German Pezzella has come to the defence of teammate Dalbert after the Inter-owned defender became the latest victim of racist abuse in Italian football over the weekend.
Dalbert has joined Inter’s Romelu Lukaku and AC Milan’s Franck Kessie in being racially abused in recent weeks. During Fiorentina’s 2-2 draw with Atalanta, a portion of Atalanta supporters targeted the Brazilian and a tannoy announcement called for the racist chants to cease but they instead persisted which led to referee Daniele Orsato temporarily halting play.
“Things like this must not exist in football. He received insults and the referee decided to suspend the match to make a statement but this does nothing. Whoever comes to the stadium must know that these things have nothing to do with football,” Pezzella remarked in an interview with Sky Sport.
The Brazilian joined La Viola on a season long loan from Inter during the Summer and has made three appearances across all competitions since his arrival in Florence, in which he has contributed one assist.
