Lazio fans ‘made presence felt’ even when boycotting Coppa Italia semi final | OneFootball

Mattia Zaccagni and Boulaye Dia insist they ‘respect’ the decision of Lazio ultras to boycott games, after a surreal Coppa Italia semi-final with Atalanta. ‘They made us feel their presence.’

It was a very entertaining match in the end, despite the rather strange atmosphere of playing in a stadium with just 5,000 fans in the stands, many more gathered outside the Stadio Olimpico in protest against Lazio President Claudio Lotito.

They had marched from the meeting point of Ponte Milvio all the way to the stadium before kick-off.

Throughout the match, they could be heard singing, cheering, and letting off fireworks, as they kept up with what was going on inside listening to the radio and watching on their phones.

The hosts took the lead twice with a Fisayo Dele-Bashiru lob and Dia pouncing on the Mario Pasalic error, but both times it lasted only a few minutes before Atalanta hit back with Pasalic and Yunus Musah for the 2-2 draw.

Lazio players felt support of the fans anyway

“It was a good performance, the right attitude, perhaps we just need to improve in our concentration, because we twice conceded straight after scoring. That should not happen,” Zaccagni told Sport Mediaset.

“The fans made us feel their presence in their own way. We respect their decision, it’s not easy to be without them, but it is their choice and we have to respect that.”

ROME, ITALY – MARCH 04: A detailed view of empty seats as SS Lazio fans are currently boycotting their matches in protest prior to the Coppa Italia match between SS Lazio and Atalanta BC at Olimpico Stadium on March 04, 2026 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

The Lazio supporters held a banner outside, declaring this was their ‘sacrifice’ for the good of the club, as most are season ticket holders and already had access to the match.

The Coppa Italia semi-final will therefore be decided in Bergamo on April 21 or 22, to see who goes through to face either Inter or Como in the Final.

ROME, ITALY – MARCH 04: Boulaye Dia of Lazio scores his team’s second goal past Marco Carnesecchi of Atalanta during the Coppa Italia match between SS Lazio and Atalanta BC at Olimpico Stadium on March 04, 2026 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

“It was a very important goal for me, I hadn’t scored for a long time, but the disappointment is that we didn’t win. That really hurts,” Dia told Sport Mediaset.

“When the team works together, we do really well, we scored two goals and played a good game.”