Lazio ultras suspected of using metal chains, hammers and leather straps to attack Real Sociedad supporters, police say

CNN
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Around 70 fans of Spanish club Real Sociedad were attacked by Lazio ultras in Rome on Wednesday, a spokesperson with Rome Capital Police told CNN.

According to police, the attack by 80 suspected Lazio ultras – a hardcore faction of the club’s fanbase – took place in a nightclub in the center of the Italian capital, near the Colosseum in the neighborhood of Monti. Lazio and Real Sociedad are scheduled to play each other in the Europa League Thursday night.

Police said that nine people were taken to a local hospital, three of whom were stabbed, and the others were beaten with metal chains, hammers and leather straps. Three people remain in hospital, while several people refused treatment, a spokesperson for San Giovanni hospital told CNN.

City councilor Nathalie Naim posted footage of the violence on Facebook, writing: “Scenes of war tonight in the Rione Monti. The roar of violent explosions, the sky turning red, screams, the buildings shaking, the people running away from the various premises.

“Groups of Spanish and Lazio fans dressed in black, some with helmets and bats, faced each other at the pub in Via Leonina with knives, jacks and hammers where they threw paper bombs … Police officers and financial police in riot gear and ambulances intervened.

“When everything was over after a few hours, the police advised not to circulate in the district.”

CNN has reached out to Lazio for comment.

“The images of the attacks last night in Rome against Spanish fans are shameful and unacceptable,” Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri said on Thursday. “Rome strongly rejects these scenes of insane violence that offend the city, its citizens and the spirit of sport.

“I trust that the investigations of the police will soon shed light on those responsible, because the Capital of Italy does not want and does not deserve to be remembered for such barbarity.”

Lazio ultras, also known as the “Irriducibili,” are notorious for their links with the far-right in Italy, as well as engaging in violent and anti-Semitic behavior.

In 2019, Lazio fans were filmed making fascist salutes and displaying a banner in support of former Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini before an Italian Cup game in Milan.

Two years prior to that, the club was widely condemned after supporters posted stickers around Rome’s Stadio Olimpico depicting Holocaust victim Anne Frank wearing the shirt of city rival Roma alongside anti-Semitic slogans.

Police said that security will be heightened ahead of Thursday’s Europa League match. Lazio is currently top of the group having won five and drawn one of its first six matches, while Real Sociedad is 12th and looking to climb into the automatic qualification spots.