Lazio, death threats to Lotito: five under investigation

“I turned to the institutions because, several times, and still now, I have been threatened with death by telling them what happened. It was then the judicial authorities that acted accordingly.” These are the declarations of Claudio Lotito, 68 years old, president of Lazio, after today the carabinieri carried out searches on five suspects on the orders of the Rome prosecutor’s office. The alleged crime is attempted extortion and market manipulation against the owner of Lazio. Threats and pressure via social media, anonymous emails and phone calls, spread of false news. All to push Lotito to sell the company: these are the accusations.

the complaints

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In the search decree, the prosecutors describe “a broader and more unitary plan aimed, on the one hand, at spreading false news capable of causing a reduction in the price of the shares of the sports club listed on the stock exchange and, on the other, at inducing and forcing the majority shareholder to cede the controlling share package”. The five suspects would also have “disseminated false news via social networks or through an online newspaper “Millenovecento” relating to the imminent sale of the controlling shareholding in Lazio and Lotito’s intention to deliberately relegate the Lazio team to a lower division to obtain the so-called parachute of 35 million euros from the State”. There are several episodes reported by Lotito which started the investigations: among others, a banner displayed in Parliament Square, in front of the Chamber of Deputies, with the words “Lotito free Lazio”, a phone call with death threats, emails with offensive content.