The Italian authorities ban Feyenoord fans from entering the stadium in the visiting match at Lazio. As a result, Rotterdam also exclude the Roman supporters for the first leg at De Kuip
“We have to do something about this urgently. The decision of the authorities is absolutely not correct. We will change the rules,” UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin had already said in an interview with ZDF in March after the exclusion of Frankfurt fans for the Champions League match in Naples.
But the announced rule change has so far failed to materialise, meaning that the Italian authorities are once again banning visiting supporters from entering a stadium this Champions League season. According to Feyenoord Rotterdam, the reigning Eredivisie champions will have to do without the support of their fans in the away match at Lazio Roma on 7 November.
Despite agreement between Lazio and Feyenoord: authorities do not agree
According to their own statement, a delegation from Rotterdam recently travelled to Rome twice to find a solution to the problem. Feyenoord is said to have suggested that at least “1200 to 1500 away fans be admitted to the matches”. This number was considered “responsible” by the officials from the club from the port city – Lazio also shared the opinion. “However, the Italian authorities decided otherwise and thus created a new situation for the home match in Rotterdam as well,” Feyenoord explained in a press release.
For in reaction to the decision of the Italian Ministry of the Interior, the current fourth-placed team in the Dutch league also excluded Roma fans for the first leg between the two teams at De Kuip on 25 October. “The so-called triangle (mayor, police chief and chief public prosecutor) and Feyenoord do not consider it responsible. This is for reasons of safety as well as Feyenoord’s sporting behaviour,” Rotterdam explained.
Rotterdam supporters rioted in Rome in 2015
As early as April, the Italian authorities banned Feyenoord supporters from entering the Olimpico. Just over six months ago, Arne Slot’s team hosted Lazio’s city rivals AS Roma in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. This was certainly also due to the events in 2015, when Feyenoord’s fans went on the rampage in the Italian capital and, among other things, damaged the historic fountain “Fontana della Barcaccia”.
