In the latest scandal gripping Italian football, the Italian football federation head Giancarlo Abete has come out with a statement expressing his sorrow for the Tottenham fans who have been injured after the recent Europa league match with Lazio. The Premier league club took on the Italian club in Rome in a match that finished 0-0. However, the headlines were taken by the off the field incidents, which saw a large group of Italian mobsters attack Tottenham fans in a bar. This left as many as 11 fans injured seriously, while two of the mob have been held for attempted murder.
There have been a lot of anti-Semitic chants over the Tottenham supporters due to the Jewish connection of the club. However, this time the incidents went beyond the chanting, as a number of Tottenham fans were stunned to the on the receiving end of a planned attack from the Lazio fans. Giancarlo Abete has expressed his sincere apology in a letter given to the English FA chairman David Bernstein. He has also said that he will be personally overseeing all the investigation into the matter so as to provide quick justice. The English FA recently said that it planned to report the incident to UEFA.
“I have already had the opportunity to publicly express my condemnation and outrage at what has happened. We would like to extend our apologies to all of the Tottenham fans and, in particular, to the families of the people involved. We are following the investigation closely and remain at the disposal of the authorities to help take this case forward,” said Giancarlo Abete in the letter to the English FA. Abete said that he believes that the attacks on the Tottenham fans were motivated on the basis of religion more than anything else.