This archive report was first published on 16 October 2019.
On November 7, Lazio will face Celtic in a crucial Europa League match, but the Italian club's fans will not have the full stadium to themselves. UEFA has ordered Lazio to close four sections of their stadium due to racist behavior exhibited by the club's fans during a group stage match against Stade Rennais earlier this month.
As part of the disciplinary action, Lazio must also display a banner carrying the words '#EqualGame' with the UEFA logo on it for the match against Celtic. This is not the first time Lazio has faced disciplinary action for racist behavior, and the club has been fined 20,000 euros ($22,088) for their actions.
UEFA has also given Lazio a suspended sentence of having to play one more match behind closed doors, contingent on there being no further racist incidents during a probationary period of one year. The decision is a clear message from UEFA that racist behavior will not be tolerated in European soccer.
