Italian soccer team punished for fans’ anti-Semitic chants

One-quarter of Juventus club’s home stadium in Turin will be closed off to supporters if behavior is repeated

By JTA 20 April 2016, 11:07 am

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The Italian Juventus soccer team celebrates after scoring after scoring during the Italian Serie A football match Juventus vs Palermo at the Juventus stadium in Turin, April 17, 2016 . (AFP/MARCO BERTORELLO)

ROME — Italian sports officials punished its top soccer team, Juventus, for its fans shouting an anti-Semitic chant, but suspended the penalty.

The order to close a section of the club’s stadium in Turin for its next game will only be enforced if there is a repeat of the behavior, ESPN reported Monday.

The Curva Sud section represents about a quarter of the stadium. The anti-Semitic chants were heard coming from there on Sunday during the team’s 4-0 win over Palermo in the Serie A championship match.

According to the chant’s chorus, for which Juventus has been punished in the past, people from Florence, where the team’s chief rival is based, are “not Italian” but “a bunch of Jews.”