Italian Fans Boo PSY Ahead of Cup Final

Published on 2013/05/29 | Source

PSY performs ahead of the 2013 Italian Cup final at the Olympic Stadium in Rome on Sunday.

It seems that some European football fans are immune to PSY's hit song "Gangnam Style" -- at least before their clubs are about to battle it out on the pitch.

The Korean rapper got a shock to the system on Sunday when his performance at the Olympic Stadium in Rome ahead of the Italian Cup final was met with resounding boos from the stands.

Although the singer tried to amuse spectators with his much-imitated horse-riding dance, he was unable to win them over. The Italian fans cheered for their respective teams and set off fireworks during his performance, but PSY still exited gracefully and thanked them before leaving the stage.

This came in stark contrast to the scenes that played out in other parts of the country last November, when a huge crowd of 30,000 people gathered to sang PSY's viral song at the Piazza del Popolo in Rome, while another 20,000 followed suit in front of the Duomo Cathedral in Milan.

But it seems that fans at the stadium weren't in the mood to enjoy PSY's performance as AS Roma and Lazio prepared for their fierce derby match to vie for the Cup. Previous clashes between the teams at the stadium have ended in catastrophe, with one Lazio fan dying from a firework explosion in 1979, and a game being called off in 2004 when a riot broke out before kick-off.

On Sunday, tensions were at boiling point due to the importance of the Cup final for both sets of fans. Reports also showed that many fans thought PSY was completely out of place and did not deserve to be there at such an occasion. In an interview with the Italian media, PSY said he understood how fans' passions were inflamed given their strong history of rivalry.

Some media described the chorus of boos as being "of a racist nature", as fans of both teams are notorious for making racist remarks. On May 12, one Serie A match was temporarily suspended due to Roma fans singing a song mocking black players on the opposing team.