- Romelu Lukaku has received immense support from fellow players following a racism incident
- The Belgian striker was on the receiving end of vile racist abuse at the Allianz Arena on April 4
- Kylian Mbappe is among the players who condemned the incident and showed Lukaku support
The football world has rallied behind Romelu Lukaku after the Inter Milan striker suffered horrific racial abuse on Tuesday evening. Lukaku was subjected to racist chants during Inter Milan’s Coppa Italia semi-final clash against Juventus at the San Siro Stadium.
The Belgian stepped up to score a last-minute penalty but his celebrations sparked a series of disgusting scenes. He was involved in a scuffle with Juan Cuadrado, with the Juve utility player punching Inter captain, Samir Handanovic.
The three – Lukaku, Cuadrado, and Handanovic – were all sent off. Lukaku’s sports agency, Roc Nation issued a stinging response, calling for an end to racism against their client.
“Tonight’s racist remarks made towards Romelu Lukaku by Juventus fans in Turin were beyond despicable and cannot be accepted.” A couple of leading stars, both former and current, have joined in condemning the incident.
Kylian Mbappe left a love emoji for Lukaku: “2023 and still the same problems, but we are not going to let you do it. All against racism,” he said, as quoted by ESPN.
Chelsea legend, Didier Drogba took to his Twitter and wrote: “When your talent and strength start hurting them and you’re becoming bigger and better, their stupidity arises.”
Lukaku’s parent club, Chelsea also left a message of support alongside a couple of Blues players including Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah.
Kevin De Bruyne also reshared Roc Nation’s message on his Instagram stories.
Sky Sports has reported that Juventus are working with authorities to identify the perpetrators of the racist acts.
Lukaku breaks silence on racism At the same time, Sports Brief reported the Chelsea striker, on loan at Inter, expressed his outrage on Instagram after the incident. He used the phrase ‘history repeats itself’, referring to a similar incident in 2019 when Cagliari fans aimed racist slurs at him. Lukaku expressed hope the league would take action this time around to ensure the beautiful game would be enjoyed by all.
