A name difficult to bear. Romano Floriani Mussolini, the great-grandson of the Italian dictator, has been summoned with the Lazio first team for the Sunday match between the Roman club and Hellas Verona, two clubs often grappling with “ultras” supporters of ‘far right.
Floriani Mussolini signed his first professional contract with Lazio in March. Coming from the training center of the Roman club, the 18-year-old defender – who claims not to be interested in politics – is the son of Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of Duce Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) who created in 1919 the first fascist militias and will be Adolf Hitler’s ally during World War II.
“Duce!” Duce! »
Celtic crosses, cries of monkeys, fascist greetings and even hijacked photos of Anne Frank, in October 2017: the “Ultras” of Lazio Rome, classified to the extreme right, are regularly pinned for racist or anti-Semitic acts.
A new controversy has hit the Roman club this week, with the broadcast of a video shot at the Lazio stadium and showing a man with an eagle of impressive size perched on his arm (the bird symbol of Lazio) making the salute fascist turned towards the supporters, who shout in return “Duce!” Duce! “.
Fans of Hellas Verona were blamed in particular when monkey cries targeted Italian international striker Mario Balotelli at the end of 2019.
