After Romelu Lukaku of Inter Milan was racially abused, Juventus have been given a partial stadium ban for their first Copa Italia game next season. The Bianconeri facilitated the Nerazzurri in the primary leg of their semi-last conflict on April 5.
After Juan Cuadrado gave the hosts the lead at the Allianz Stadium, Lukaku converted a penalty kick to bring his team level. The Belgian continued to celebrate by shoving the crowd, and as a result, he was booked. However, Juventus fans repeatedly criticized the attacker for his race throughout the game.
As a result, the authorities have decided to shut down a portion of Bianconeri Stadium for one of the games next season. After the game, Lukaku vented his emotions on social media. On Instagram, the Belgian striker wrote:
“History repeats itself in 2019 and 2023. I hope the league takes real action this time because this beautiful game should be enjoyed by all. Thank you for your encouraging messages. Racism is a joke.
Following the incident at Juventus’ stadium, the representatives of Romelu Lukaku were urged to take action :
Michael Yormark, president of ROC Nation Sports, issued the following statement following Romelu Lukaku’s abuse at the Allianz Stadium (via News 18): “The racist comments made to Romelu Lukaku by Juventus fans in Turin this evening were beyond repugnant and cannot be accepted.
He was the target of hostile and repugnant racist abuse prior to, during, and after the penalty. Romelu celebrated in the same way that he has celebrated goals in the past.” They went on to say: “The referee’s response was to issue Romelu a yellow card.
Juventus should apologize to Romelu, and I anticipate that the league will immediately condemn the actions of this group of Juventus supporters. Instead of punishing the abuser, the Italian authorities must take advantage of this opportunity to combat racism.”
The authorities in Italy responded by stating: “A few people in the stands can’t ruin the soccer game and don’t represent all the fans’ thoughts.”