Lazio and Juventus charged over fans racist abuse

Lazio has lost its appeal to UEFA over fan racism sanctions and was again hit with another fine on Monday by the Serie A for supporters targeting the Uefa’s president and Juventus legend Michel Platini with an offensive banner.

This incident happened in response to UEFA’s decision to reject Lazio’s appeal over its two-match home supporter ban and fined them €40,000 last month, which prompted the Roman club’s fans to hold aloft an abusive banner towards Platini during Sunday’s Serie A match with Fiorentina.

Serie A fined Lazio €10,000 ($13,000) for the offensive banner, which means Lazio will try and defend a 2-0 first-leg lead against Stuttgart without any fans at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday in the Europa League.

In another incident related to the racism in the Serie A, the Italian league also decided to fine Juventus €4,000 ($5,000) after their fans racially abused AC Milan forward Mario Balotelli in their win over Catania on Sunday.