Roma president Jim Pallotta has shared his thoughts on the "f****** morons" whom he believes are tarnishing both the name of the club and Italian football in general.
, the Boston-native criticised the football fans who cause trouble at matches.
He also labelled Tuesday's assault
, an incident which left the 53-year-old in a critical condition, the "most disgusting stupidity."
"We have a long history at Roma and what's going on when you have a few stupid people is that they destroy our history and they attack our legacy and I'm tired of it," Pallotta is quoted as saying in the interview.
"It's not just an issue for Rome. It's an issue for Italy and it's an issue for the authorities and it's an issue for all of [us] to band together and to finally wake up so that we don't have a reputation - that's not deserved around the rest of the world - that our fans are not good fans because our fans are the best fans in the world - it's just a couple of f****** morons that take the rest of us down.
"What I want to talk about is how these games are great but they're not life and death.
"What's going on right now with Sean Cox in Liverpool, that's life and death and that affects his family.
"I don't really give a s*** about the score of the game.
"It's disappointing to me that Rome and AS Roma get blamed for a few individuals who do stupid things.
"Now, I don't know the whole story. All I've seen is what I saw on the video, like most others, and at least that part of the video with Sean is just the most disgusting stupidity and my prayers are for him and his family.
"It's depressing though that all of the other fans at Roma get blamed for something that, going back to that saying that I had about a year and a half ago... a few people wrecking things for everyone else."
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Sean Cox, a 53-year-old from Dunboyne in Co. Meath, had been attacked outside The Albert pub beside Anfield and has been in critical condition ever since.
Two Roma fans, dressed in black and equipped with weapons, were subsequently arrested and charged with violent disorder and inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Despite both Roma supporters being charged, concerns are growing that worse will happen next week when Liverpool heads to Rome for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final.
However, the Merseyside club has said that they have held ‘productive’ talks with UEFA and AS Roma to address security fears ahead of their Champions League semi-final, second leg.
In a statement on Friday, Liverpool said they would be sharing info with fans on how to stay safe if they were travelling,
“Liverpool Football Club would like to thank UEFA, AS Roma and the Italian authorities for providing the most up-to-date detail on operational procedures ahead of the Champions League tie on Wednesday,” read a club statement.
“A positive and productive meeting has taken place in Rome today (Friday), with all those involved displaying intent for a collaborative approach and a commitment to making the event a great sporting occasion.
"The club, UEFA, AS Roma and the Italian authorities will continue to work together to deliver further information and we thank supporters for their patience while we collate, review and disseminate this guidance.”
