Juventus ultras group Drughi released a statement denying they intended to mock or insult the victims of the Superga tragedy that wiped out the entire Grande Torino squad.
Late Friday night, under the cover of darkness, a selection of the ultras gathered on the steps of the Superga basilica just hours before the Derby della Mole.
They posed for pictures with a banner showing a Zebra stabbing a Bull (the clubs of the two teams) and the motto: ‘We have been the real history of Turin since 1897. We tame the bull.’
The gesture was roundly condemned, including by other Juve supporters and the official club social media account, as it was considered to be mocking the most sacred landmark in Toro’s history.
The best team in the world in the immediate post-war era, the Grande Torino squad was returning from a friendly in Portugal when the plane crashed into the side of the basilica on the Superga hill overlooking Turin.
All 31 people on board, including players, coaches and journalists, were killed on May 4, 1949.
Following the condemnation, the Drughi group released a statement to insist their gesture had been misunderstood.
“Regarding the controversy sparked by what happened on Friday night, we want to underline that the Basilica of Superga has since its construction been a symbol of the city of Turin, at the same level as the Mole and the Caval’d Brons, and not as a symbol of Torino the football club.
“We would never insult the dead, just like we do not want other fanbases to do that to us. Nobody dared to even think about showing contempt for the stone marking those who fell here.
“It was just a demonstration that Superga, dominating our city from above, has been since 1897 part of the history of the first club in Turin.”
The reference to other fanbases insulting their dead is because of the offensive tragedy chanting that sometimes occurs against the Juventus fans who lost their lives at the Heysel Stadium disaster.
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