Last night, Romelu Lukaku scored a stoppage-time penalty kick to help his club Inter Milan get a 1-all draw against Juventus in the Coppa Italia in Turin.
Lukaku went on and celebrated his goal in front of Juventus fans which prompted referee Davide Massa to give him a second yellow card and send him off.
There was a scuffle between opposing players after Lukaku’s goal and players from both sets of teams Juan Cuadrado and Inter Milan captain Samir Handanovic were shown red cards after the final whistle of the match.
Lukaku’s representatives Roc Nation Sports International have released a statement that says the Belgian star suffered racist abuse from Juventus fans before and after scoring the penalty, something that the group’s president Michael Yormark termed as “beyond despicable.”
“Tonight’s racist remarks made towards Romelu Lukaku by Juventus fans in Turin were beyond despicable and cannot be accepted. Romelu scored a penalty late in the game. Before, during and after the penalty, he was subjected to hostile and disgusting racist abuse.” Yormark said in a statement that was shared on social media.
The statement adds: “Romelu celebrated in the same manner he has previously celebrated goals. The referee’s response was to award a yellow card to Romelu.”
Yormark said that Juventus should apologize to Lukaku for their fans’ behaviour and expects the Italian league to immediately condemn this racist behaviour.
“The Italian authorities must use this opportunity to tackle racism, rather than punish the victim of the abuse.”
This is not the first time Lukaku has suffered racism in Italian football. He was also on the receiving end of such racist chants on several occasions during his first spell at Inter Milan between 2019 and 2021.
