During the classic between Inter Milan e Juventus, a new case of racism in football ended up occurring. Velha Senhora was winning by 1-0, with a goal by Cuadrado, but in the last bid, Bremer committed a penalty after touching the area with his hand. Lukaku took the penalty accurately and tied the first leg of the Coppa Italia semifinalbut the move ended up being tainted by the fans of the Turin team.
Before the charge and during the celebration, the Belgian center forward was called “monkey of m****” and saw the crowd make gestures and sounds that imitated a monkey. The answer was direct: Lukaku made a sign of silence for the Italians and ended up creating a widespread confusion, with expulsions from Cuadrado, Handanovic and the author of the equalizing goal. This Wednesday morning, Inter and Juve made pronouncements against what happened.
– We want to make it clear that we are united against racism and all forms of discrimination. Football and sport must not only be a vehicle for emotions, but also for clear and shared values, which have nothing to do with what we saw last night in the last minutes of the Coppa Italia semi-final in Turin. For that reason, we reiterate all our support, affection and solidarity with Romelu Lukaku, as the world of football is doing in these hours. Come on, Rom, we’re with you! – said Inter in an official statement.
– Juventus Football Club, as always, is collaborating with the police to identify those responsible for the racist gestures and shouts that took place last night. Also in this case, the Homologation Code will be applied to those responsible – if you positioned Juventus through your Twitter. The organization of the Italian Championship also condemned the episode and said that the clubs have complete autonomy to investigate the perpetrators of the crime of racial injury and keep them out of the stadiums.
With the expulsion, Lukaku will miss Nerazzurri in the return of the semifinal, which will take place on April 26, at 4 pm, at Giuseppe Meazza. Whoever wins qualifies for the final, which will be played on May 24, at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, against Cremonese x Fiorentina.
