Lazio ultras to boycott Rome derby in solidarity with Roma supporters

A divide in the stadium has brought two rival supporters groups together.

In a rare show of solidarity between two hated rivals, Lazio's ultras will abstain from attending Sunday's Derby della Capitale in support of the Roma ultras' continued boycott of their home stadium, according to the Associated Press.

The boycott of Stadio Olimpico stems from the Rome city council's decision to place a barrier in between the southern curve of the stadium, where Roma's hardcore fans situate themselves for home matches.

They have declined to attend some of Roma's biggest contests so far this season, including a massive win over Bayer Leverkusen this past week in the Champions League. Now, as a result of the dispute, one of the biggest derbies in all of Italy will be played in near silence.

That Roma and Lazio fans would stand together for anything likely comes as something of a shock for many football observers. Some of these fans have previously stabbed each other. They've harboured weapons for nefarious means. Match times were moved from night to day to reduce the risk of violence.

Yet here, they have found common ground. Both sides seem to understand the right to support a team without deterrent.

Each end of the stadium, the Curva Nord of Lazio, and Roma's Curva Sud, has a familiar look on matchdays, one of unbridled passion; sometimes choreography, other times smoke, and always complete chaos. But it's been several months since the Roma ultras have assumed their usual positions, and the stadium looks and sounds eerie without them. Roma has played some of the best football in Italy inside an echo chamber.

Serie A clubs are having a hard enough time filling the stadia across the peninsula, and ultras - despite their purportedly illicit behaviour - can help make the famous stadium atmosphere what it is. They chant, wave flags, pop flares: They're everything to their teams. But just 35,000 people are expected to attend one of the biggest fixtures in Italian football on Sunday.

"Roma is loved, but at the moment, this love is silent," Roma director Walter Sabtini told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Instead of watching their team in the stadium, Roma's ultras will reportedly take to the streets in different areas of the city, and fraternize with hooligan supporters of other European clubs.