SOCCER-WORRIED LAZIO FANS READY TO BETRAY CLUB

ROME, May 3 (REUTERS)

When the Inter Milan players step on to the pitch for their decisive match against Lazio on Sunday, the unthinkable will happen: Lazio fans will cheer them.
Regarded as among the most hardcore, ferocious and racist fans in Italian soccer, Lazio supporters traditionally greet their opponents with a tidal wave of abuse.
Sunday should have been no different. It is the last game of the season and a Lazio win might secure them a place in the UEFA Cup, helping to salvage an otherwise disappointing campaign.
But if Inter win, they will clinch their first Serie A title since 1989, ensuring that Lazio's hated city rivals AS Roma do not grab a second successive 'scudetto'.
"All Lazio fans will support Inter. No-one cares about the UEFA Cup, no-one wants Roma to win, that's the bottom line," said Vito Mastrodonato, a life-long Lazio supporter. "If the players let Roma win the title then they won't be able to show their faces here again. It would be the latest act of unacceptable treachery," said the 41-year old doctor, still smarting from a recent 5-1 defeat by Roma.
When Roma won the 'scudetto' last season their fans embarked on an orgy of celebration that is still going on. Club flags still flutter triumphantly from balconies and lamp posts, while the team's red and yellow colours are daubed on buildings, road signs and trains across the city. 
"They really went too far. We can't afford another year of Roma glee," said Luca Lazazzero, a die-hard Lazio follower. "Every time a Lazio player touches the ball on Sunday we will boo them. It will hurt us, but we have to stop Roma," he said.