By Jonathan Smith At Lazio 2-2 Roma (Rome, 27 October 2002)

Were there racist chants at the game?
Yes. The Lazio fans made monkey noises throughout the game whenever one of Roma's three black players touched the ball.

I would not have wanted to be a black person near the ground on Sunday. Had you strayed into the wrong area, you would not have felt safe.

Ratio between racial groups in the stands and on the pitch?
I did not see a single black or Asian face in the crowd. It was 100% white.

On the pitch, there were three black players playing for Roma, and none in the Lazio side.

Any racist banners, flags or graffiti in the ground or surrounding streets?
There were no banners in the stands, mainly because the club are very aware they are under the spotlight.

At the same game last year, there were anti-Semitic chants from the Lazio fans which caused a huge media storm.

In the streets around the Stadio Olympico there was a lot of racist graffiti, slogans about sending immigrants home.

But it was impossible to say if this was done by football supporters or not.

Were non-white players targeted by sections of the crowd?
Yes. Roma's Cafu, Lima and Jonathan Zebina, their three black players, had monkey-chants directed at them from start to finish.

The Lazio fans will tell you that they will target any Roma player in any way they can - they will call Francesco Totti fat and ugly.

They claim that the monkey-chants are the same sort of thing.

Was there any visible anti-racist action from the club or police?
No - the Curva Nord, where the hard-core Lazio fans sit, is policed and stewarded by Lazio ultras - the fans themselves.

The club accepts that they do not have control of that area.

There were anti-racism banners in the Roma end, put there by the Roma fans, not the club.