FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football – Serie A – Lazio v Cagliari – Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy – September 19, 2021 General view of Lazio fans holding a scarf inside the stadium before the match REUTERS/Alberto Lingria
November 7, 2021
ROME (Reuters) – Lazio have hit out at the makers of Amazon Prime’s dramatised “Maradona: Blessed Dream” series for a scene in which the Roman club are branded fascists, asking for it to be cut.
The scripted series, which follows the life of the former Napoli and Argentina great, features a scene where Diego Maradona’s character says “these fascists want to humiliate us”, referring to Lazio.
“The reference to fascism is all the more hateful because it is evoked with clear defamatory intent,” read a note on the club website.
“It manages to achieve the extraordinary result of insulting an entire fanbase and club, moving away from reality and also the thoughts of Maradona himself, who showed on many occasions that he was a friend of Lazio.”
Lazio have asked Amazon Prime for the scene that is “as improbable as it is painful” to be cut as it “lacks respect for Lazio fans and the memory of a great champion”.
A section of Lazio’s support have a history of far-right extremism.
The club was fined by UEFA and had sections of their stadium closed for one game in Oct. 2019 after a group of fans were caught making fascist salutes during a Europa League game against Rennes.
(Reporting by Alasdair Mackenzie; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
