Lazio ultras call Lotito a dictator as boycott deepens after Mantova cup shock | OneFootball

Lazio’s ultras stepped up their boycott and condemned president Claudio Lotito after a shock Coppa Italia defeat to Mantova, releasing a fierce statement and vowing to continue their protest.

According to Football Italia, supporters had already been staying away from the Stadio Olimpico in recent months over Lotito’s stewardship, and many have not bought season tickets for this campaign.

The first official match of the season drew 5,528 for the 2-0 loss, with more than 2,000 Mantova fans present. Some in home sections were Roma supporters filming to mock their rivals.

In their statement, the ultras targeted Lotito, coach Gennaro Gattuso and new signing Davide Frattesi, who they noted is a declared Roma fan. They paired a welcome for Frattesi with coarse abuse, insisting their fight lay elsewhere.

They called the defeat humiliating, portrayed Lotito as a dictator who had reached the end of the line, and said the Coppa Italia mattered to them. They argued for new owners rather than new players, and rejected stadium promises, objecting to a split Curva Nord.

They demanded Roma sympathisers be removed from Lazio, offered cautious backing to Gattuso, and warned players to give maximum effort or leave. In their view, the Mantova result exhausted any remaining excuses.

The group urged fellow fans to avoid provocation and claimed some at Formello hoped for away bans to lure them back to the Olimpico. They pledged to populate away ends across Italy, and, if trips are curtailed, to travel independently as cultural tourists.

Source: Football Italia

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”