The Lega Serie A has confirmed that Juventus have been issued with a €10,000 fine after a number of supporters decided to interrupt a minute’s silence for the late Inter and Italy legend Sandro Mazzola over the weekend.
Mazzola, who is widely considered one of the greatest Italian footballers of all time, died at the age of 83 on Saturday.
In tribute, a minute’s silence was held at every Serie A match after the news broke on Saturday morning.
This was not respectfully observed at the Allianz Stadium ahead of the match between Juventus and Atalanta, though. A number of supporters in the Curva Sud decided to turn their backs towards the pitch while the tribute was taking place, and then proceeded to sing chants in memory of some of their own club legends during the minute’s silence.
These supporters received widespread criticism from the rest of the football community and were also publicly condemned by the club in an official statement almost immediately after the game had taken place.
The Lega Serie A has confirmed on Tuesday that Juventus have been fined €10,000 for the incident, noting that the punishment was reduced due to the club moving so quickly to publicly criticise the supporters involved, and for the fact that the rest of the stadium successfully drowned out the unwanted noise with a round of applause.