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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Nicholas Keyden

Celtic fans' bitter feud with Mussolini's granddaughter reignited as she mocks Rangers loss

The granddaughter of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini has reignited her feud with Celtic fans after Rangers' Old Firm win.

became embroiled in a war of words with the Parkhead faithful amid tensions surrounding Lazio's visit to Glasgow back in October.

Neil Lennon’s side beat the Italian giants 2-1 in the Europa League clash, which was marred by the behaviour of visiting fans who marched through Glasgow while giving fascist salutes.

A section of the Green Brigade later unfurled a giant banner at Parkhead showing the body of "iI Duce" being hung from a garage in Milan with the message 'Follow your leader'.

Alessandra Mussolini has reignited her feud with Celtic fans after Rangers won at Parkhead (Reuters)

Celtic were later fined €15,000 (£12,901) by UEFA for the fans' banner with the Serie A club also sanctioned for their supporters' offensive chanting.

Mussolini was executed by communist partisans in April 1945 before his body was hung upside down in Milan to publicly confirm his demise.

Celtic fans unfurl a banner of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini hanging at their side's Europa League clash with Lazio at Parkhead in October (SNS Group)

The banner at the Celtic game led to Alessandra hitting out at Celtic fans and calling for depictions of the National Fascist Party leader being hanged to be made illegal under Italian Law.

Celtic supporters hit back the next day at an away game in Aberdeen by unfurling a banner with the words 'Alessandro vaffanculo' - a clear message telling the granddaughter of Benito Mussolini to "f*** off".

And now the Italian politician has waded in again by tweeting "But then who won? #OldFirmDerby" in the wake of Rangers' 2-1 win on Sunday.

A Celtic fan hits back at Alessandra Mussolini after she mocked the club over their loss to Rangers (Twitter)

Hoops fans were quick to bite back at the comment, with one posting a picture of the Old Firm scoreline upside down.

They wrote: "Edited the result so your grandfather could read it, hope it helps."

Another pointed out that Celtic knocked Lazio out of Europe by simply asking: "Who progressed in the Europa?"

The banner unfurled at the Celtic game infuriated the family of Mussolini – who is regarded as the founder of fascism, a far right political philosophy that was adopted by Adolf Hitler in Germany in the 1920s.

Benito Mussolini with Adolf Hitler, left, during the height of his powers and after he and his by mistress Clara Petacci were killed by Communist partisans in 1945, right (Getty/MirrorPix)

Alessandra Mussolini, who is an Italian MEP in Brussels and a member of Silvio Berlusconi's party Forza Italia, called for similar displays to be criminalised under Italian law.

Speaking to AdnKronos about the banner she said: "It was a violent gesture of 'Ducephobia', a crime which doesn't yet exist but which I propose to include in our judicial system.

"Whoever shows a photo or drawing of my grandfather upside down is committing an act of violence, which should be pursued.

"The ultras? Being a fan is extremist in and of itself. They're ultras, are they not? It's in the name..."

Tensions between the two sets of fans boiled over during the powderkeg return match in Rome the following month, which was marred by ugly scenes.

Video: Lazio fans in Glasgow city centre before Europa League clash against Celtic

Three travelling fans were stabbed during terrifying incidents at the Flann O’Brien Irish bar and a McDonald's on November 7 and 8 respectively, with video emerging of supporters brawling on the streets.

Five men were later arrested by Italian police over the incident.

Lazio “ultras” also targeted Hoops supporters who had to walk into the city centre after the game when their shuttle bus broke down.

At least 12 Italian fans were arrested.

Lazio fans make fascist salutes as they march down Buchanan Street in Glasgow in October (Ravz@PlaydirtyRavz))

Both Celtic and Lazio were subsequently hit with fines by UEFA in the aftermath of the match.

The Glasgow club had to stump up €16,000 and Lazio €2,500 after fans set off fireworks in the Studio Olimpico.

The home side also had to pay €6,750 after their supporters threw missiles.

 
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