Fiorentina should face punishment for their fans waving Liverpool scarves at Juventus fans during their recent meeting.
Journalist Favio Ravezzani has called for sanctions for Fiorentina due to their fans repeated use of Liverpool to mock Juventus fans.
The journalist was referring to Fiorentina fans latest taunting of Juventus fans. Some were spotted taunting Juventus fans with Liverpool scarves and chants during the 2-2 draw between the two sides in Florence last week.
Liverpool taunts
The issue is a longstanding one in Italian football. Indeed, one Fiorentina fan was banned in 2022 for similar actions after being caught by police.
Fiorentina fans themselves have condemned the taunts in the past. They are not the only Italian side to have done so. The issue is one that has spread across fanbases in Italian football.
For those that don’t know, using Liverpool imagery and taunts to Juventus are a direct and provocative reference to the 1985 Heysel Stadium disaster.
That tragic event saw 39 people, mostly Juventus fans, lose their lives when a stadium wall collapsed following a charge by Liverpool fans ahead of the European Cup Final.
It has become common to see Fiorentina Ultras adopt Liverpool symbols as a sign of mockery to their fierce rivals since. In one infamous incident shortly after the disaster, Fiorentina fans unfurled a banner reading “39 less hunchbacks”.
The term hunchbacks is another derogatory term used for Juventus fans.
Calls for change
Now, some people, like Ravezzani, have had enough. He’s called for Fiorentina to own up to the issue and being to sort it out themselves.
“We shouldn’t be focusing on these animals anymore,” he said during an appearance on Juventibus on Telelombardia.
“Instead, we should be holding the Fiorentina club, the mayor of Florence, CONI, and the federation accountable. Something this repulsive cannot simply be dismissed with a ‘well, it’s just 40 or 50 people, what can you do?’
“It is an affront to the dignity of both a city and a football club. Whenever you ask the mayors of Florence to intervene, they just say, ‘Oh well, what can you do?’ That is the real disgrace.
“It is absolutely disgusting that political and sports institutions fail to clearly distance themselves from this.”
