Inter have dismissed claims Romelu Lukaku broke COVID-19 rules by holding a birthday party in Milan last night.
Lukaku was spotted in a Milan hotel at 3am with Achraf Hakimi, Ivan Perisic and Ashley Young, along with 20 others, reportedly being fined by police for breaching Italy’s curfew rules.
As per Italian news agency ANSA, sources close to Inter insist Lukaku was only having a dinner to mark his 28th birthday and did not hold any kind of party.
Rumours of a more lavish celebration came out ‘by mistake’ after Lukaku received a present from one of his fellow diners, which was handed to the striker outside the restaurant just as police arrived on the scene.
Lukaku’s only punishment regarded the curfew breach, although Inter were at pains to explain that even that wasn’t as serious as it sounded.
In reality, Lukaku and his teammates went to have dinner in a hotel near the centre of Milan and they only arrived so late because Inter were playing Roma last night, with the match only finishing at 22:45 CET.
Some players opted against staying at the hotel and went home instead, but they were intercepted by police just as they were heading back to their cars after leaving the restaurant.
A report elsewhere today assured Lukaku was unlikely to face punishment from Inter, meaning the Belgian will be available for Saturday’s Derby d’Italia at Juventus.
