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MISSING PEOPLE

Why is this Italian football club posting missing people pics?

On the left, the smile of a footballer, happy to join his new club. On the right, another smile, but one which hides a dramatic story. AS Roma are using transfers to highlight the plight of missing children.

Why is this Italian football club posting missing people pics?
When the AS Roma signed Pau Lopez, it put out a search for a missing 15-year-old. Photo: AS Roma/Twitter
Roma is one of the two major clubs from the Italian capital along with eternal rivals Lazio and on Sunday both will go head-to-head in a fiery derby clash at the Stadio Olimpico.
   
On social media, clubs compete for originality when it comes to announcing new signings, and in recent years Roma have built a solid reputation for their quirky humour and style.
   
But in 2019, the three-time Italian champions decided to take another approach to announcing new signings, using the club's extensive digital media following for social good.
   
New recruits are now presented alongside the face of a missing child, with information, a phone number and a video clip.
   
The project is run with 13 associations and since June 30 and the signing of Italian defender Leonardo Spinazzola, six children featured have been found, in Great Britain, Belgium and Kenya.
   
“I don't think any of us expected a child we'd featured in a video to return home safely, obviously we prayed it would happen but we didn't expect it,” Paul Rogers, AS Roma's Chief Strategy Officer told AFP.
 
“When I got the first call from the charity Missing People to say a teenage girl from London who had featured in the Mert Cetin video six days earlier had been found safe, it was one of the best days I have ever had at work. I was so excited to tell everyone. It was just brilliant.”
 
In Septemer, the club announced that the 13-year-old Kenyan boy featured alongside the transfer of Chris Smalling had also been found. 
 
   
In total, Roma broadcast 72 videos last summer, presenting 109 missing children from 13 different countries.
   
It was truly global with the focus on the United States, South America, Europe and Africa. These videos were viewed 11 million times, the club said.
   
At the launch of the initiative, Jo Youle, CEO of the British association Missing People, stressed how precious the power of Roma on social media could be.
   
“AS Roma is giving us a fantastic opportunity to reach a wide audience by sharing appeals for missing children and young people with their millions of fans,” she said. “Raising awareness among as many people as possible is crucial.”
 
'Painful context'
 
The concept was inspired by American rock band Soul Asylum's 1993 video 'Runaway Train' which featured missing children, 21 of whom were later found.
   
“Obviously, there was no public internet and no social media back then, so the band used MTV, which I guess was the best way to reach young people across America and the world at the time,” explained Rogers.
   
“With Roma, we thought we could try and do something similar but updated for the social media generation.”
   
The fact that footballers, who have millions of followers on Twitter and Instagram, are associated with the campaign means that it reaches an even bigger audience.
   
“I have spoken with some players like Chris Smalling, whose video announcement featured a teenager who later returned home safely, and I can say that they were beyond proud,” said Rogers.
   
The initiative was to continue during the January transfer window which closes next Friday, but Roma have not yet recruited a new player.
   
And the recent announcement of the death of a young American who had been due to appear in the next video was a stark reminder of the painful context.
   
“The NCMEC (National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children) told us that many brands are scared off by this subject but that only made us more determined to do what we could to help them,” continued Rogers.
   
The Roman club are now trying to convince other big names in European football to join them for a joint initiative on May 25, International Missing Children's Day.
   
“With the help of clubs like Real Madrid, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund and Marseille, we can help reunite some families,” added Rogers.

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FOOTBALL

Italian police probe anti-Semitic posters aimed at Lazio and Napoli fans

Italian police are investigating after AS Roma supporters allegedly distributed anti-Semitic leaflets in the north of the city on Wednesday to coincide with the anniversary of bitter city rivals Lazio.

Italian police probe anti-Semitic posters aimed at Lazio and Napoli fans
AS Roma playing Lazio in 2016. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

The leaflets, signed by a group of Roma ultras, were posted overnight in the area where Lazio supporters gathered to celebrate their 119th anniversary.

The text of the flyers read: “Lazio, Napoli and Israel, same colours, same flags. S**t.”

It comes just over a year after Lazio ultras posted anti-Semitic stickers depicting Holocaust victim Anne Frank in a Roma jersey in the Stadio Olimpico.

Rome mayor Virginia Raggi condemned the incident on Wednesday. “I firmly condemned the anti-Semitic posters which appeared in Rome,” she wrote on Twitter. “Football cannot be division and intolerance.”

Raggi also denounced earlier clashes with Lazio supporters that left at least ten police officers injured. “Unacceptable violence against police officers by ultras. Rome cannot become a theatre for the madness of some criminals.”

READ ALSO: Police injured as Lazio's 119th anniversary celebrations turn violent

The skirmishes took place at Piazza della Liberta where up to 2,500 Lazio fans gathered late on Tuesday at the spot of the club's foundation.Shortly after midnight, an estimated 300 fans, with their faces covered, broke away from the main group and began throwing bottles and other objects at police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons.

Tensions are running high in Italy after violence before Inter Milan's league game against Napoli on December 26th in the San Siro, which was also overshadowed by racist chanting. A 39-year-old Inter Milan fan was killed after being struck by a car.

There were also clashes in the Italian capital before Lazio's Europa League game against German club Eintracht Frankfurt last month. 

READ ALSO: Racism is still rife – and unpunished – in Italian football


Napoli's defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who was subjected to racist insults by Inter Milan fans before receiving a red card during a match on December 26th. Photo: Marco Bertorello/AFP