Gabriele Gravina, the president of the Italian football federation the FIGC, has confirmed that there will be no postponement to Serie A despite prior suggestions that could be the case in wake of the racial abuse from Inter fans in the direction of Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly.
“We need a tangible response to those who think that attitudes like those shown yesterday could contaminate our world.
“Therefore, football will be played on Saturday. Games will go ahead as planned. The League won’t stop.
“We all have to take some responsibility and keep the tone low. We must have faith in the institutions. These continuous attacks aren’t good for football and the balance of our game.”
Gravina then spoke on the way referee Silvio Mazzoleni handled things last night at San Siro.
“Mazzoleni applied the rules perfectly yesterday. Some statements haven’t helped the climate.
“The law states that only security officers have the possibility to suspend the match and not the referee. Think about what it would have taken yesterday to get 65,000 people out.”
Gravina stressed the need for clubs to play a prevent such incidents happening in the future.
“Clubs must be play an active role in eradicating this phenomenon.We put so much energy into the world of football but it only takes very little to nullify everything, and we can no longer afford for that to happen.”
Gravina also spoke on what would happen if teams are to take a stand and walk off the pitch in the event it happens again, something Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti has already said he and his side are prepared to do.
“If players left the field then it would break the rules, followed by a negative result for their team. That seems obvious to me: I understand everything, the needs to protect the dignity of players and avoiding these negative stories. However, let’s not forget that there are rules, which need to be improved. We must demand not only application but also respect of these norms. If not then it’d be like the Wild West.”
