(Football news) Romelu Lukaku was subjected to racist chanting during Inter Milan 1-1 draw against Juventus in the Coppa Italia draw on Tuesday. As per the Serie A, the lower tier of the Allianz Stadium’s South Stand will be closed for Juventus’ league game against Napoli on April 23rd after “the majority of fans” were heard chanting racist slogans during Lukaku’s stoppage time penalty.
The 29 year old on was shown a second yellow card for putting his finger on his lips in front of the home fans after scoring the equaliser in the first leg of the semi-final. Lukaku will now serve a one match ban for receiving a red card while Juventus goalkeeper Samir Handanovic and midfielder Juan Cuadrado have also been handed bans after a row broke out after the final whistle.
Both the Juventus players have received a three match suspension for grabbing Handanovic by the neck and punching him while Inter Milan’s captain has received a one game ban. Earlier, Lukaku’s representatives – sports agency Roc Nation – said sport should “hold bigots accountable”, adding “hatred equals racism equals ignorance”. They took out a full page advert in Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport that said “Dear Italy, do better, want better, be better.”
Lukaku said on Instagram after the game in Turin that “history repeats itself”, adding that he also faced racist abuse in 2019. Roc Nation said: “In professional football, Black players have been subjected to hatred during professional football games. The hatred has displayed itself in the form of monkey chants, racial slurs and banana peels tossed at the best players in the world, as the world watches, as the children watch, as the players’ families watch.
“No-one has faced any consequences for this heinous behaviour. Nothing has changed. No action has been taken. In fact, the only person that could be held accountable is a player, if they react to this disgusting behaviour during the game. Enough is enough. We call on the worldwide community of sports – players, team owners, artists, brands, and all fans – to denounce the racist behaviour and hold bigots accountable to a human standard. One which upholds decency, respect and compassion for others.”
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