The Italian authorities on Monday prohibited access to sports venues to 171 Juventus fans, due to racist chants against Belgian footballer Romelu Lukaku, of Inter Milan, in the Italian Cup.
The chants took place at the game on April 4, when Lukaku was preparing to score the penalty that resulted in a 1-1 draw, as well as during his subsequent celebrations, which sparked confusion among the players on the substitute benches, which resulted in several expulsions, including that of the Belgian himself.
The now punished supporters were identified through video and audio recordings, which could help find another 80 criminals.
The authorities did not specify the time during which people who were also financially fined were prohibited from entering the sports facilities.
The investigation by the Directorate of Special Operations also detected offensive chants by Inter cheerleaders towards Juventus fans, specifically when they sang “Liverpool, Liverpool”.
These chants made reference to the Heysel Park tragedy in the 1985 European Cup final, in which an avalanche of people left 39 people crushed to death, 32 of them sympathizers of the vecchia signora.
Meanwhile, and in an “exceptional and extraordinary way”, the Italian federation has decriminalized Romelu Lukaku’s second yellow card in the Cup challenge, so he will be able to play the second leg on Wednesday, despite the fact that the National Court has denied Inter’s appeal. In the first instance.
“The principle of the fight against all forms of racism is a fundamental element of the sports order,” the organization justified.
The pardon comes in a particularly turbulent week in the discussion of the incidents of that meeting, since the Court of Justice that dismissed Lukaku’s appeal was the same one that accepted the one presented by Juventus for the sanction received for closing the sector responsible for racist insults. in question. .
Source: TSF
