EU Parliament head denounces Lazio fans for anti-Semitism

BRUSSELS – The head of the European Parliament has strongly denounced Italian football hooligans who used Anne Frank’s image to offend the fans of an opposing team, saying that anti-Semitism has no place in Europe today.

Lazio fans were discovered Monday to have anti-Semitic stickers and graffiti that included images of Frank, the young diarist who died in the Holocaust, wearing a jersey of the rival Roma team. It was the latest in a long line of racist or anti-Semitic incidents involving Lazio supporters.

Antonio Tajani, himself Italian, told the European Parliament on Tuesday that “using the image of Anne Frank as an insult against others is a very grave matter.”

He said the EU must remain a place of religious tolerance, with anti-Semitism a phenomenon confined to the past.