Italian authorities banned 171 Juventus fans from sporting venues this Monday over racist chants against Belgian footballer Romelu Lukaku, of Inter Milan, in the Italian Cup.
The chants took place during the match on 4 April, as Lukaku prepared to score the penalty kick that resulted in a 1–1 draw, as well as during his subsequent celebrations, which caused confusion among the players on the substitutes’ benches, resulting in at several expulsions, including the Belgian himself.
The now penalized supporters were identified through video and audio recordings, which could help find about 80 other offenders.
Authorities did not specify for what time people who were also fined financially were denied access to sports facilities.
The Special Operations Directorate’s investigation also found offensive chants by the Inter cheerleaders towards Juventus fans, namely when chanting “Liverpool, Liverpool”.
These chants referred to the tragedy in the Heysel Park during the 1985 European Cup Final, in which an avalanche of people resulted in 39 crushing deaths, 32 of whom were supporters of the ‘vecchia signora’.
Meanwhile, and in an “exceptional and extraordinary way”, the Italian federation decriminalized Romelu Lukaku’s second yellow card in the cup challenge to allow him to play in the second leg on Wednesday, despite Inter’s appeal being ruled by the Court of Appeal. at first.
“The principle of combating all forms of racism is a fundamental part of the order of sport”justified the organism.
The pardon comes in a particularly turbulent week in the discussion of the incidents of that meeting, as the Court of Justice that rejected Lukaku’s appeal was the same one that accepted the appeal filed by Juventus for the sanction received to close the sector that had seen the racist insults caused in question.
Source: DN
