Olympique de Marseille said Thursday evening that it reserved the right to "
file a complaint
" following "
presumptions
" of racist cries from the public of Lazio Rome during the Europa League match at the Stadio Olimpico (0- 0).
“
Following the presumption of racist cries against our players, the club recalls that it strongly condemns any form of discrimination.
OM reserves the right to lodge a complaint in the event that UEFA confirms these serious accusations,
”the club said on Twitter.
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Monkey cries
Several journalists present in Rome said after the meeting to have heard cries of monkey emanating from the stand of the fans of Lazio Rome, targeting in particular the Senegalese striker Bamba Dieng, who entered during the match. Asked at a press conference, neither coach Jorge Sampaoli nor goalkeeper Pau Lopez confirmed having heard such racist cries. "
I did not hear,
" replied the Argentinian.
As for the Spaniard, he explained that he had "
not realized
".
“
It's true that when Dieng had the ball he was whistled a bit, but I don't think it was done on purpose.
Cengiz Under and I, who were Roma players, were also whistled tonight, I think it was the same way, not differently on that subject
, ”he explained.
Several precedents in Rome
Lazio, which has the reputation of having resolutely fascist tifosi, has already been sanctioned (fines, closures of stands ...) in the past by UEFA and the Italian Federation for the behavior of its supporters.
In mid-September, AC Milan denounced alleged racist cries against his French midfielder Tiémoué Bakayoko, from the Laziali fan sector.
In 2020, the Roman club was fined 20,000 euros for the racist cries sent by some of its supporters to Mario Balotelli during a trip to Brescia.
A similar case concerned, in 2016, the Senegalese defender of Naples Kalidou Coulibaly.
Racist incidents are recurrent in Italian stadiums: the Belgian Romelu Lukaku, the Ivorian Franck Kessié, the Brazilian Dalbert or the English Ronaldo Vieira have already been victims, like the French Mike Maignan this season.
A man suspected of having uttered racist insults against the AC Milan goalkeeper was indeed identified at the end of September and will have to respond to incitement to hatred.