Damiano Tommasi, the president of the Italian players association, has insisted that ‘courage’ is required if Italian football wishes to deal with the issue of racism.
Inter striker Romelu Lukaku became the latest in a long line of victims of racist abuse in Italian football as a portion of Cagliari fans made monkey chants at him during the recent match between the sides.
“We need courage, because people who act this way must be sanctioned. If there are only a few, they need to be identified and taken out of the stadium,” he said in an interview with Radio Rai.
“If there are many offenders, then play has to be halted. The trouble is these insults are not just in the stadiums, but on social media and they are spreading.
“We also really need all elements of the state to work together on the issue of these ‘safe havens’ in the stadiums. Some zones must be more closely monitored, because the Curva Nord statement about Lukaku is proof these safe havens do indeed exist, areas where people think they can do anything.”
