Lazio’s first away trip of the season brought a sold-out visiting section at the Stadio Dall’Ara, with supporters turning the hour before kick-off into a demonstration against president Claudio Lotito.
According to Lalaziosiamonoi.it, whose correspondent was at the ground, roughly 4,000 Lazio fans were in Bologna, the away end already full well before the start.
Shirts, scarves and flags filled the section and the chants, many of them aimed at the club’s ownership, all but drowned out the stadium’s pre-match music. The players walked over to applaud them during the warm-up and were cheered back.
Lazio fans boycott Stadio Olimpico but follow the team away
The split is deliberate after organised groups announced in June that they would neither renew season tickets nor attend home fixtures, while committing to every away game and the Rome derbies.
Only an estimated 4000 members renewed during the summer, a dramatic fall compared to the 29,918 subscribers last summer.
The first competitive match at the Olimpico bore it out, with 5,528 present for the Coppa Italia defeat to Mantova on 16 August and more than 2,000 of those following the visitors.
The ultras responded by branding Lotito a dictator, and their protest now extends past the turnstiles to merchandise, pay-TV subscriptions and businesses linked to the president.
