Former Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku believes football is ‘going backwards’ in its fight to eradicate racism after he was targeted by Cagliari fans on Sunday.
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The Belgian international was racially abused by home fans as he took a second-half penalty which he scored to give the visitors a 2-1 win – his second goal in as many games in Serie A since leaving Old Trafford.
This, however, was not the first time that a section of Cagliari fans have behaved in this manner in recent seasons, having also racially abused Moise Kean, now with Everton, Juve’s Blaise Matuidi and Ghanaian midfielder Sulley Muntari when he was with Pescara in 2017.
In a statement posted on his Instagram page, Lukaku noted that ‘many players’ have received racist abuse in recent weeks and now he has, too.
“Football is a game to be enjoyed by everyone and we shouldn’t accept any form of discrimination that will put our game in shame,” he wrote.
“I hope the football federations all over the world react strongly on all cases of discrimination!!! Social media platforms (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook…) need to work better as well with football clubs, because every day you see at least a racist comment under a post of a person of colour.
“We’ve been saying it for years and still no action.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s 2019, instead of going forward we’re going backwards and I think as players we need (to) unify and make a statement on this matter to keep this game clean and enjoyable for everyone.”
Soon after Lukaku’s comments were released, Cagliari published a statement on their website and social media platforms.
It said Cagliari ‘firmly rejects’ what happened and ‘underlines, once again, its intention to identify and ban those ignorant individuals whose shameful actions are completely against’ the club’s values.
But having pointed out that most fans, from both clubs, had ‘enjoyed a lovely evening together’, Cagliari hit back at ‘the outrageous charge and silly stereotypes’ directed at their supporters and Sardinians in general, ‘which are absolutely unacceptable’.
It concluded by saying: “Full solidarity to Romelu Lukaku and an even stronger commitment toward annihilating one of the worst plagues that affects football and our world.
“However, as we are aware that technology is not enough, we believe our commitment needs real support from the rest of football’s stakeholders: starting with all the true supporters, to all the stewards in the stands, from police and security staff, to the media and through to Serie A and the Italian FA.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma was subjected to vile racist abuse online over the weekend after he scored an own goal in the club’s 2-2 draw with Sheffield United