Anti-Israeli football posters appear across Rome

“These flyers are yet another piece of evidence that the problem of racism and antisemitism in football is not limited to single clubs, and everyone should be involved in fighting it,” said Ruth Dureghello, president of the Rome Jewish community .

Commentators compared the incident to another episode in October 2017, where Lazio fans went around Rome’s Olimpico stadium affixing stickers illustrating Anne Frank wearing a Roma shirt — intended as an insult.

Roma and Lazio are arch rivals and both have neo-fascist among their hooligan supporters.

Antisemitic slogans are regularly chanted by certain circles in Italy and usually go ignored by the general public, media or authorities.

The incidents come amid a backdrop of rising hooliganism in Italian football. One recent match between Inter Milan and Napoli saw violent clashes between fans and racist chants directed at Kalidou Koulibaly, a black defender for Napoli.

Inter Milan’s stadium was closed to fans for a fortnight as a result.

Italy’s Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, himself a supporter of AC Milan, has been accused on taking a soft line on the hooligans by saying he opposes halting matches, closing stadiums or prohibiting fans in response to violence and racism.

“Violent supporters are a minority and responsibility is always personal,” wrote Mr Salvini in a letter to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Italy’s sports newspaper.

“I’m not convinced the match between Inter Milan and Naples should have been stopped. How do you draw the line between a racist insult and a normal insult?”