Victim of racist insults, the Inter Milan striker was expelled against Juventus in the Italian Cup (1-1), after celebrating his goal in front of the Turin supporters’ stand.
Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku was targeted by racist insults from some Juventus supporters on Tuesday April 4 during the Italian Cup semi-final first leg (1-1) , denounced his communication agency.
“Racist remarks towards Romelu Lukaku from Juventus fans are beyond despicable and cannot be accepted”estimated Michael Yormark, president of Roc Nation Sports International, agency managing the interests of the Belgian international of 29 years. “Before, during and after the penalty, he was the victim of hostile and sickening racist insults. He celebrated in the same way he had celebrated goals before”he added in this text published on social networks.
The Inter striker was sent off following his penalty equalizer in added time, for a second warning, after celebrating his goal in front of the Juventus supporters’ stand, finger on his mouth .
The Italian League singled out
The president of Roc Nation Sports International concludes his remarks by demanding “an apology from Juventus (…). The Italian authorities must use this opportunity to fight against racism, rather than punishing the victim.” Juventus said on its Twitter account that it wanted to “collaborate with law enforcement to identify those responsible for racist gestures and cries.” Serie A, for its part, reacted in a statement stressing that it condemned “firmly any episode of racism and any form of discrimination”calling for “get the racists out of the stadiums”.
“A few characters present in the stands cannot spoil the spectacle of football and do not represent the ideas of all the supporters and enthusiasts present at the stadium”underlines the body, ensuring that the clubs “will be able to identify the culprits, excluding them for life from their stadiums”.
recurring episodes
Racist or anti-Semitic incidents are very regular in the Italian stadiums. On Tuesday, Lazio Roma and AS Roma were sanctioned for recent behavior by their supporters. In September 2021, AC Milan and France goalkeeper Mike Maignan was also the target of racist abuse during a match in Turin against Juventus.