Romelu Lukaku’s management team reacted angrily after the Inter Milan forward received a second warning and was later sent off the pitch for making a gesture towards Juventus supporters who yelled racial slurs at him.
The incident happened after Lukaku successfully scored a penalty in the extra time to give Inter a 1-1 draw in this week’s Italian Cup semifinals.
After scoring, Lukaku put his finger to his lips, as if to quiet the audience.
With the game ending in a brawl between the two teams and the dismissal of Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic and Juventus winger Juan Cuadrado, Lukaku’s gesture incensed the opposition team.
President of Roc Nation Sports International Michael Yormark claimed that the racist comments made by Juventus supporters toward Romelu Lukaku in Turin on Monday night were “beyond awful” and “cannot be condoned.
“He received aggressive and repulsive racial insults before, during, and following the card. Romelu celebrated his achievement in the same way as he has in the past. Romelu received a yellow card in retaliation from the referee. Romelu deserves an apology from Juventus, and I expect that the league will condemn this group of Juventus fans’ actions right away,” said Yormark.
Throughout his two spells at Inter, Lukaku, who was born in Belgium and whose parents are from the Congo, has frequently heard racist slurs aimed at him.
Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, posted on Instagram, “It is just wrong to watch the racial hatred being directed at Lukaku. FIFA and I support Romelu Lukaku, just as we do any other football player, coach, official, spectator, or participant who has encountered racism or any other type of prejudice. I repeat the appeal I made earlier this year for supporters to take a stance and silence the bigots.”
