Before FC Bayern’s Champions League game against Lazio Rome, there was an incident in Munich with away fans chanting fascist chants.
The Italian newspaper “La Repubblica” published a cell phone video from the Hofbräuhaus in which Lazio football supporters sing a song at the end of which they shout “Duce, Duce, Duce” (Leader) – referring to Italy’s fascist dictator Benito Mussolini (1883-1945).
The video also shows how some fans in the well-known inn show the so-called “Roman salute” with an outstretched arm, which is popular with fascists – in Germany comparable to the Hitler salute. In response to a dpa request, the Munich police confirmed that there was an operation at the Hofbräuhaus on Monday evening and that investigations were underway. It was also confirmed that “a guest there had shown the so-called ‘Hitler salute’.”
“The suspect, an 18-year-old Italian tourist, was found on site and temporarily arrested,” the police said. After the police measures were completed, he was released after “paying a security deposit in the four-digit euro range.”
Roman City Council: “A disgrace”
The Roman city councilor for sports, Alessandro Onorato, strongly condemned the event. “The pictures of Lazio fans in Munich for the Champions League game, singing in honor of the Duce, showing the Roman salute, are a disgrace. They are dragging the team, all the fans and the city of Rome into the dirt,” he said.
In response to a dpa inquiry, the Hofbräuhaus said that a group of Lazio fans had been accompanied by the police throughout the evening. “We had no knowledge of any fascist songs that were being sung, nor did we notice any corresponding gestures from the guests. Otherwise we would definitely have intervened,” the statement said.
As can be seen on the cell phone video, the fans sang about, among other things, the “Black Shirts,” the paramilitary militias of Mussolini’s fascists. According to “Repubblica” there were almost 100 Roman fans in the inn. Lazio supporters repeatedly attract attention through fascist scandals.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240305-99-228087/5