Vice-president of the Italian football federation Demetrio Albertini touched on the recent incidents of racism within Italian football and different methods to combat it in an interview with Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia today.
“Objective responsibility is one of the cornerstones of sports justice and I believe that extenuating circumstances for virtuous clubs can be a solution in front of some fools who want to behave incorrectly to threaten clubs and be able to control them,” he began.
“Those who can do so much more are the players themselves. I say this as an executive and not as a footballer, but if they stopped for a moment to try to make everyone understand what’s going on, we could make great strides forward.”
Inter striker Romelu Lukaku was racially abused by a section of Cagliari fans in the Nerazzurri’s 2-1 win over the Sardinian side at the start of the season. Other players have also been victims of racial abuse within stadiums, such as former Inter striker Mario Balotelli.