Lazio, what is the Code of Ethics that led to the “lifetime expulsion” of the 3 fans

It is so rarely mentioned that the existence of a Code of Ethics was almost forgotten. It took a sports club exasperated and muddy by the discriminatory and uncivilized behavior of some members of its fans, to go back to applying it in the strictest possible way. In fact, Lazio has banned three people for life for the episodes of anti-Semitism in which they became protagonists during the derby against Roma. In reality, however, since it is not the provision of a public authority, the most correct formula is “withdrawal of approval”, as stated in the Biancoceleste club’s press release. It is therefore not a question of a Daspo, the acronym that indicates the prohibition of access to sporting events.

The latter is a preventive measure governed by article 6 of law 401/1989, it is issued by the Police Chief and in its basic application the duration must be between one and five years. Then there are two successive degrees: recidivism, which widens the interval between five and ten years; repeated recidivism, which makes it possible to extend the duration of the Daspo up to another eight years.

the code of ethics

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Lazio, on the other hand, through the application of the Code of Ethics, was able to issue a provision of a definitive nature. On 4 August 2017, a memorandum of understanding was signed in Rome at the headquarters of the FIGC by Federcalcio, Coni, the Minister of the Interior (Marco Minniti), the Minister of Sport (Luca Lotti), Lega Serie A, Lega B, Lega Pro, National Amateur League, Assocalciatori, Assoallenatori and the Italian Association of Referees. In that circumstance, clubs were allowed to draw up a series of rules that fans are required to respect, giving clubs the possibility of “suspending or revoking approval” of those responsible, i.e. banning them from accessing the stadium . The provisions are considered automatically accepted by the supporter with only possession of the ticket. Each club declined them in the way it deemed most appropriate, for example Rome and Lazio are among those who reserve the right to punish the offenses, discrimination and incitement to violence spread on social media. For the identification of the culprits, reports can be received from the stewarding services, from the Suppoter Liaison Officer and by making use of the videotaped images from the stadium cameras or published on the net.

application

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In this circumstance, Lazio applied the provisions of letter q) and v) of the Code of Ethics for supporters, sanctioning “expressive expressions of insult or offence, or praising violence, or discrimination for any reason, if expressed on the occasion of events or public demonstrations and/or on social media” and “chanting and expressions glorifying violence or discrimination”. The concept is then reiterated a little further on: “(the fans present at the stadium) must refrain from engaging in offensive behavior of a homophobic, sexual, racial or discriminatory nature in any form, aware that any such behavior constitutes serious violations of the Code Ethical”. The duration of the provision is at the discretion of the company, based on a series of criteria such as intentionality, damage to image, recidivism and seriousness.

previous

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The hard punch of companies is a sporadic but not new event. The forerunner, using the Code of Ethics in a significant way, was Roma in September 2019 which banned access to the Olimpico for life for the racist insults directed by a fan at Juan Jesus via the Instagram chat. In November of the same year, Verona had banned entry to the stadium until 2030 to one of the leaders of the supporters organized for the racist chants directed at Mario Balotelli, then continuing to insult him both on social media and on a local radio broadcast. In February 2020, Cagliari had banned three fans from the stadium for life for “discriminatory and offensive words of a racist nature during the matches played at the Sardegna Arena over the last few months”.