Israeli sports minister asks Italy to rein in soccer racism

JERUSALEM — Israel’s sports minister asked her Italian counterpart on Wednesday to crack down on racism in soccer after Lazio supporters plastered stickers at a stadium with images of Holocaust victim and diarist Anne Frank wearing a jersey of city rival Roma.

Miri Regev’s office said a letter dispatched to Luca Lotti called the display “despicable” and accused thousands of Lazio fans of openly identifying with neo-Nazi symbols. She wrote that calling Roma players “Jews” inferred they were a “scourge to be avoided.”

The Italian soccer federation has said a passage from Frank’s diary will be read aloud at all soccer matches in Italy this week. It said it would also be combined with a minute’s silence before Serie A, B and C matches to promote Holocaust remembrance.

Lazio supporters plastered the stickers during Sunday’s match against Cagliari in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. The stickers show a well-known photo of a smiling Anne with a superimposed red Roma jersey.