Italian football has faced renewed racism in recent weeks, with Romelu Lukaku and Dusan Vlahovic both abused at two different games.
Authorities have worked hard to stamp out racism from the Italian game for several seasons and would be disappointed at the recent reemergence of cases.
Juvetus’ Ultras abused Lukaku in the Coppa Italia semi-final, while Vlahovic was subjected to abuse during Juventus’ match against Atalanta last weekend.
The Serbian reacted and was cautioned, just as it happened in Turin with Lukaku and authorities are working to stop the recurrence of these incidences.
Speaking about what sets both incidents apart, referee designator Gianluca Rocchi said via Calciomercato:
“We had a meeting and the instructions given to the referees are clear. If Lukaku is subject to racism, he should not be cautioned, but Massa didn’t know. The referee thought he was provoking the fans, he didn’t know about the previous incidents.
Vlahovic? The reasons state that the caution is formally correct. It’s a different case, the referee did everything to show support for the player, we are the first to be insulted, let alone if we were in the shoes of the players,”
Juve FC Says
Racism has no place in our game; we just have to keep working hard to push it far from the competition.
Authorities have dealt with both cases similarly, which shows they remain committed regardless of who the club or player is.
