Lazio Fans Challenge Lotito Over Club Direction As Petition Passes 36,000

A tense atmosphere continues to surround S.S. Lazio as protests against president Claudio Lotito show no sign of fading. The message repeated across the fan base has become simple and direct: be competitive, or leave the club.

The latest flashpoint came during the home match against Genoa CFC, when organised supporters did not take their places in the stands, leaving an unusually quiet backdrop for the game. Attention is now shifting to what comes next, with the next home fixture against Atalanta BC seen as the next moment where the protest could evolve.

At the centre of the latest wave is an open letter hosted on Change.org, which has gathered more than 36,000 verified signatures in roughly two weeks, a figure that the petition itself displays as 36,535. The letter calls for greater respect for fans, the club’s history, and its values, and it asks for a sporting and economic plan capable of bringing Lazio back to a stable place near the top of Italian and European football. If that ambition cannot be met, the letter urges the ownership to consider stepping aside.

The initiative was created by journalists Federico Marconi and Alberto Ciapparoni, whose names appear directly on the petition page. In the text, supporters complain about the lack of an ambitious long term project and the difficulty of identifying with a team they feel no longer “makes them dream,” while also criticising a series of club decisions that they believe have shown insufficient respect toward Lazio’s identity and fan base.

The background noise has also been amplified by off pitch stories, and one of the most sensitive has been the ongoing situation around Alessio Romagnoli. When asked about it briefly, Lotito offered a short and typically blunt line: “Romagnoli is there, you cannot see him.”

With the petition numbers rising and the boycott atmosphere still fresh after the Genoa match, Lazio now head into the next home date with the feeling that the stands, not only the pitch, will remain part of the story

For anyone who wants to sign the petition, here is the link: https://www.change.org/p/lettera-al-presidente-lotito