Belgium and Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku made a plea to football federations and social media platforms on Monday to do more to fight racism after he was subjected to racist abuse in Sunday’s 2-1 Serie A victory at Cagliari.
Playing only his second match in Italy after his move from Manchester United, Lukaku appeared to be the target of monkey chants from the home crowd at the Sardegna Arena as he prepared to take the decisive penalty.
Cagliari described the behaviour of the fans involved as shameful after the latest in a string of incidents involving the club but also said that “both Inter Milan and Cagliari supporters enjoyed a lovely evening together in the name of their passion for football.”
Several black players have suffered online racist abuse in recent weeks, including Manchester United’s Paul Pogba and Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham and Kurt Zouma.
Racism has been a long-running problem in Italian football where authorities have been criticised for not taking strong enough action.
Lukaku lamented the lack of action despite years of complaints.
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