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Roma fans who have been banned from attending the Serie A club's home game with Atalanta at the weekend have called on the rest of the club's supporters to show their solidarity by boycotting the game. The Curva Sud will be closed for Sunday afternoon's clash after insulting banners about the mother of a Napoli fan who was killed by a Roma supporter prior to last season's Coppa Italia final in the capital were shown during their recent 1-0 win over Napoli. Club president James Pallotta branded the culprits "idiots" and distanced his club from them. But those fans have now isolated themselves from the president and called on the rest of the Roma fans to follow suit at the weekend. "You permitted yourself to label 14,000 Roma fans "f---ing idiots," making yourself a new millennium moralist," read a statement released by the Roma Ultras, which will be distributed to fans outside the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday. "This is why we are angry with you, James, and this is why, in a sign of solidarity with the Curva Sud, the rest of the stadium will remain empty for Roma-Atalanta. We invite all of the Giallorossi fans to stay away." Pallotta is not going to back down in his condemnation of those fans who tarnished the Serie A club's reputation, however. "I'll continue my fight against those few who are damaging the great majority of fans," he told Il Corriere dello Sport. The Italian Football Association (FIGC) have also defended their decision to close a quarter of the stadium at the weekend, saying they may even go further. "The closure of the Curva Sud and the measures adopted by the club do credit to Roma," FIGC president Carlo Tavecchio said at a conference in Cassino, in quotes reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I think banners should be removed from all the stadiums because we're the only country where this sort of thing happens."
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