Curious tourists setting out for an evening stroll in the Roman Forums earlier this week were in for a surprise.

Turning onto the Eternal City’s show stopping Via dei Fori Imperiali, they were met not only by dazzling ruins from the classical world, but by thousands upon thousands of Lazio fans.

One unfortunate visitor was filmed hastily changing out of his Roma shirt when he stumbled upon a sea of Biancocelesti protesters. It wasn’t the worst idea. Although this was a peaceful protest, these fans were not in a good mood.

A reported 10,000 were in attendance, a staggering amount for a sweltering midweek day, especially with so many Romans having fled the capital to escape the summer heat.

As the march headed towards the Rome City Council headquarters on the Capitoline Hill, one banner was held aloft at the front: La politica ce lo ha messo, la politica lo deve togliere (Politics put him there, politics must take him away). The same message was displayed in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and in Munich’s iconic Marienplatz.

Why were Lazio fans protesting?

The message from the march was clear: enough is enough.

After more than 20 years of Claudio Lotito’s ownership, during which ‘Libera la Lazio’ (set Lazio free) protests have been a regular occurrence, laziali headed to the Campidoglio to make their feelings clear.

Lotito has long been an opinion-splitting figure and has juggled his role as Lazio’s owner with his responsibilities as a Forza Italia senator for the last five years.  

One of the criticisms often levelled at him by supporters is a lack of investment to push the club forward, but his defenders would point to Lazio’s financial stability compared to many of their Serie A rivals.

However, a chaotic summer has deepened divisions. A transfer ban was placed on the club after they failed three financial metrics (more on that shortly) to leave a squad that could only finish a disappointing seventh last season unable to strengthen.

At Tuesday’s march, fans voiced criticism of the owner for “pursuing personal interests” and not spending “a cent from his own pocket.”  

“We are here because we want to dream,” they said.

The march began outside the Colosseum and worked its way through the forums to the foot of the Capitoline Hill. Few protests can ever have more spectacular settings.

Once there, a delegation of supporters met with members of the city council to express their feelings and concerns and raise questions about the Stadio Flaminio renovation project that has been a long-running topic in Rome.

This is the second summer in a row that a mass protest has been held by Lazio supporters. Last June, thousands of fans gathered at the Stadio Flaminio – Italy’s former rugby stadium abandoned since 2011 – to call on Lotito to ‘set Lazio free’.

Fast forward to now and the situation has worsened. Lazio face a season without European football for the first time in nine years and to make matters worse, they are unable to address the situation in the transfer market.

Why can’t Lazio sign any players?

The shock news broke last month that the Italian Football Federation’s financial watchdog COVISOC had placed a transfer embargo on Lazio after they failed three tests.

They fell short of financial targets for debt, extended labour costs and the infamous liquidity index – a metric used to assess a club’s ability to meet its short-term financial obligations.

The ban was implemented based on Lazio’s financial report of March 31, with reports saying the only way of unblocking the situation would have been for Lotito to raise or inject €90million into the club – something he insisted there was no need for.

“We cannot continue in football with these regulations,” Lotito told Il Messaggero after the ban. “It does not reflect the situation of the club at this current moment, so the transfer embargo is unfair.

“If I decide to make new signings, then I will increase the capital, but it would be senseless because Lazio do not need fresh capital nor is it a problem with the players. At most, we might buy someone in January, but that’s not the problem.”

So, boss Maurizio Sarri faces a big challenge in leading a side through at least half a season without any reinforcements arriving – and it was reported in Corriere dello Sport last month that he rejoined the club without knowing about potential transfer ban.

Lazio said in a statement that there was “no cause for concern” over their finances and that “economic and financial stability” and “sustainability of the sporting project” was one of the “pillars the club’s identity is founded on.”

As it stands, the closest thing Lazio have to new signings are returning loan players Matteo Cancellieri and Danilo Cataldi. While they can’t sign, they are allowed to sell, and Loum Tchaouna’s move to Burnley is unlikely to be the last as the club looks to trim squad numbers ahead of a season out of Europe.  

Will Lazio renovate the Stadio Flaminio?

The Stadio Flaminio has been touted as a potential future home for Lazio for years.

The ground, which lies just north of Piazza del Popolo in the Parioli district, was designed by renowned architect Pier Luigi Nervi in the 1950s and was the home of the Italian national rugby team for more than a decade until it moved to the Stadio Olimpico in 2011.

Since then, it has become crumbled and forgotten, sitting unused for almost 15 years. The question of how serious Lotito is about moving his project forward of making it Lazio’s permanent home was among those addressed by the fan delegation.

Rome’s Assessor for Sport Alessandro Onorato spoke to the supporters, with reports saying he made it clear that although Lazio’s project is serious, Lotito has thus far failed to provide the documentation needed to move it forward.

The next phase, a ‘Services Conference’, cannot begin until it arrives. That in itself is then likely to take 12-14 months.

The hope is that within two to three years work can begin on a €140m restructuring job to transform the ground into a modern football stadium, but there are seemingly complications at every corner, and it is unlikely to be a simple process.

As for the Lazio fans’ hopes of seeing Lotito sell up, the club’s response to reports of a potential sale this week was emphatic.

“Lazio strongly rejects the news circulating in the last few hours, reporting supposed negotiations for the sale of the majority stake in the club of Claudio Lotito,” said a statement. “These are completely unfounded, false and seriously damaging reports.”

Amid this atmosphere of anger, distrust and impatience, the Lazio fans have not given up on their team.

As pre-season got under way this week with an unchanged squad, the season ticket numbers rapidly rose and are now approaching 25,000 – not far short of last season’s Lotito-era record of 30,000 and with more than a month to go until the campaign starts.

The immediate outlook may be bleak, but the laziali remain determined to believe in a brighter future.