- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku has requested Serie A to step in after he allegedly faced racial abuse during Tuesday’s (4) Coppa Italia draw with Juventus, with the Turin side saying it was collaborating with police to find the culprits, Reuters reported.
The 29-year-old Belgian-born striker scored from a penalty in the stoppage time to neutralise a late goal by Juventus midfielder Juan Cuadrado and earned his side a 1-1 semi-final first-leg draw.
Lukaku, however, ended up seeing the yellow card for the second time after he held his finger up to his mouth in front of the opponent team’s supporters during the celebrations. The gesture was judged to be provocative, the Reuters report added.
In a statement that was released late on Tuesday, US-based sports agency Roc Nation, which represents Lukaku, asked Juventus to apologise to him. It said the footballer was subjected to racist remarks that were “beyond despicable”.
“Tonight’s racist remarks made towards Romelu Lukaku by Juventus fans in Turin were beyond despicable and cannot be accepted,” Roc Nation Sports International president Michael Yormark was quoted as saying by Reuters.
“Before, during, and after the penalty, he was subjected to hostile and disgusting racist abuse. Romelu celebrated in the same manner he has previously celebrated goals. The referee’s response was to award a yellow card to Romelu.
“The Italian authorities must use this opportunity to tackle racism, rather than punish the victim of the abuse.”
Juventus on Wednesday (5) said they were “collaborating with the police to identify those responsible for the racist gestures and chants which took place last night”.
Lukaku had also experienced offensive chants in 2019, which he condemned in a social media post then.
“History repeats… Been through it in 2019.. and 2023 again..,” he said in a post on Instagram on Wednesday.
“I hope the league really take actions for real this time because this beautiful game should be enjoyed by everyone…”
Racism has been a long-running problem in Italian football and authorities have been accused of not taking strong action.
France’s star forward Kylian Mbappe backed Lukaku in a social media post, saying that football struggles against “still the same problems” in 2023.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino also offered his support for Lukaku.
