Unfortunately for Dusan Vlahovic, he’s about to endure one of the toughest experiences in his young professional career.
The Serbian’s switch from Florence to Turin in the summer left a bitter taster in the mouth of his former supporters.
The player who was once idolized by the Tuscans now returns to town while leading the line for their most hated rivals.
Amidst making the move to Juventus, we all remember the banners that the Fiorentina fans held at the Artemio Franchi Stadium, which contained some racial and discriminatory insults towards the striker and his heritage.
Therefore, we can only imagine how it’s going to be on Wednesday with a stadium packed with angry supporters, as Fiorentina host Juventus for the first leg of the Coppa Italia Semi Finals.
In order to keep the situation under control, the Viola management released a carefully-worded statement, urging fans to avoid discriminatory chants, but at the same time encouraging them to disrupt Vlahovic and his teammates in all other manners.
“Fiorentina would like to thank the great number of supporters who will be at the stadium beside the team for the Fiorentina-Juventus match on Wednesday,” reads the official statement as published by la Gazzetta dello Sport.
“On this occasion, the Viola club also invites our fans to support the team with all their passion, their heart and their extraordinary irony, making us feel the love for our colors for all 90 minutes, avoiding racist choirs and discrimination that has nothing to do with our culture and our history. Forza viola.”
