Racism in Italy: Lukaku sharply criticizes "Black Friday" headline

The two footballers Romelu Lukaku and Chris Smalling reacted indignantly to a headline in the Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport, in which they were reduced to their skin color. In addition to photos of the two black players had the sheet before the top match of Serie A between Inter Milan and AS Roma in capital letters "Black Friday" written.

Lukaku wrote on Twitter of the "stupidest headline I've seen in my career." Her guy fuels the negative and racism issues. " Smalling tweeted that the title page of the newspaper was "false and highly tactless". Inter's city rivals AC Milan wrote on Twitter: "These superficiality and ignorance of racism are absolutely unacceptable."

pic.twitter.com/Hq7PTbFU6V

The club announced in a joint statement with AS Roma to deny reporters of the "Corriere dello Sport" until the end of the calendar year the access to their compound grounds.

It is totally unacceptable to see such casual ignorance on racism. We will not stay silent on this issue ...
Non sono più tollerabili superficialità e ignoranza sul tema del razzismo. Non resteremo più in silenzio davanti a questo problema. # Togetheragainstracism pic.twitter.com/kxKBP7CVox

"Corriere dello Sport" feels misunderstood

Although the newspaper highlighted that inter-striker Lukaku and Roma defender Smalling had played at Manchester United before their transfers to Italy this season, appreciated each other and were always determined to fight racism in football. The headline nevertheless caused an outcry.

In response, the Editor-in-Chief of the Corriere dello Sport published a statement describing the phrase "Black Friday" as "a celebration of otherness, the pride of otherness, the great richness of otherness." An "innocent headline" is "poisoned by those who have poison in it". The term "Black Friday" comes from the USA and marks the starting signal for the Christmas shopping.

In the original article, the newspaper wrote, "With the idiots shouting 'buu,' tomorrow we all have to shout 'oooh' (like the kids), a big Black Friday is played, but there are no end-of-season discounts, if, then more pieces of a championship title that last the whole season. " Lukaku and Smalling called the text "two colored sizes".

known problems

The Italian football has a racism problem for years, there are always incidents and chants in the stands. Lukaku had been denigrated by TV commentators and opposing fans since switching to Italy this summer, and parts of his own fan camp defended racist chants against the offensive player.

In this context, Serie A director Luigi De Siervo made headlines this week. The newspaper "La Repubblica" published an audio recording in which De Siervo proposed during a meeting to switch off the microphones in the stadium so that the monkey sounds would not be heard on television.