Racism
Romelu Lukaku may have again fallen victim to racist chants in the Roman derby on Saturday, a persistent ailment in Italian football that the Red Devil has previously confronted. The Italian Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation.
Sports judge Gerardo Mastrandrea has not yet made a ruling and has asked the Italian national public prosecutor’s office to further investigate a number of events during AS Roma-Lazio (1–0) last Saturday. Those responsible for safety must also draw up an additional report.
One of the matters that the federal public prosecutor’s office must investigate further are possible racist chants towards Romelu Lukaku and teammate Tammy Abraham in minutes 1, 28 and 51. The sports judge wants more evidence to be able to impose penalties. For this purpose, the federal public prosecutor’s office will listen to audio files of the match.
It is not the only discord during the derby. At Lazio, Frenchman Mattéo Guendouzi is said to have been the victim of offensive chants. Furthermore, Lazio fans are said to have targeted Roma supporters with racist and discriminatory chants with a religious slant.
AS Roma player Gianluca Mancini waved a flag with a rat on a background in the colors of Lazio. He also risks punishment for this.
Jungle sounds
Lukaku has been the victim of racism in Italy several times. In 2019, he was subjected to jungle noises while taking a penalty during an away match in Cagliari. Our compatriot reacted angrily on social media.
At the beginning of April last year, Lukaku, then still at Inter, was sent off after, according to the referee, he had provoked Juventus fans while celebrating a goal. However, Lukaku had fallen victim to their racist chants first.
“History repeats itself. I have already experienced this in 2019 … and again in 2023,” Lukaku wrote at the time. “I hope that real action is taken this time, because everyone should be able to enjoy this beautiful game. Thank you for your expressions of support. F*ck racism.”
At the beginning of this year, Lazio had to close a number of stands for one match after Romelu Lukaku was targeted by Lazio supporters with monkey noises during a cup match against fellow city rivals.
