An outrageous banner displayed by Verona's ultras has been condemned after the notorious fans called for Russia and Ukraine to bomb the city of Naples.
The hardcore supporters of the Serie A side are known throughout European football for their far-right sympathies, and have a history of shameful incidents.
In 1996 Verona had agreed a deal to sign Dutch defender Maickel Ferrier, who is of Surinamese descent.
In a derby with Chievo though the Verona fans sang racist songs and unveiled a number of banners, one of which read 'negro go away'.
Another image depicted a black man in a Verona shirt being lynched by two members of the Ku Klux Klan.
Ferrier, just 19, tore up his contract and joined Salernitana instead.
Verona have seen multiple sanctions for the behaviour of their fans, who racially abused Mario Balotelli in 2019.
In Italy there is also regular discrimination against people from the south of the country, who are slurred as terrone , the closest translation of which would be 'dirt people'.
The far-right Lega party were initially the Lega Nord (Nothern League) and were formed with the aim of Northern Italy seceding from the poorer south.
Napoli visit Verona for a Serie A showdown this afternoon and a shameful banner was hung outside the Stadio Bentegodi.
The Curva Sud ultras hung a sheet with the Russian and Ukrainian flags as well as the coordinates of Naples, a clear message that they would glory in seeing the city bombed.
Verona fans have frequently 'welcomed' Napoli with offensive slurs and songs, such as calling for Vesuvius to "wash them with fire".
One match in the 80s saw them unfurl a banner saying "welcome to Italy", with the visiting fans responding with a message of their own saying "Juliet is a slut", a reference to Shakespeare's famous play set in Verona.
Neapolitan writer Maurizio De Giovanni condmened the latest outrage, writing: "The refined, intelligent and geographic banner of the Veronese curva , which gives the Russian and Ukrainian missiles the correct location of the target. For the uninitiated, these are the coordinates of my city.
"They're always admirably ready to grasp current events to renew their deeply racist idiocy.
"Just to make us understand with a concrete example how far (sub) human imbecility can go, and how very serious things and nonsense can mix in such a narrow mind."
