NAPOLI STAR EYES EXIT TO ESCAPE RACIST CHANTS
KALIDOU KOULIBALY, the Napoli central defender pursued by Manchester United and Chelsea, is at the centre of a racism storm that has rocked Italian football and threatens to push the player closer to the Premier League. Koulibaly alleged that he endured racial abuse and monkey chants during Napoli’s 1-0 defeat at Inter Milan on Wednesday. Koulibaly and his manager Carlo Ancelotti were furious after persistent racist chanting. The 27year-old central defender, a nominee for African Player of the Year and one of Europe’s finest centre backs, was sent off late in the game, shown a second yellow card when he sarcastically applauded a decision by the referee. Former Chelsea boss Ancelotti claimed he asked for the game to be stopped and, despite announcements urging supporters to behave, the monkey chants are said to have persisted. Ancelotti said: ‘It’s a shame because twice we asked for the match to be suspended for the racist chanting towards Koulibaly. It shook him. He’s a good-mannered player and he was bombarded by the stadium. ‘Despite our requests and the chanting, the game wasn’t suspended. I think it should have been. Next time we’ll stop playing ourselves. ‘It was impossible for him to be calm. He cares a lot about the issue of racism and he commits a lot of time to the matter, including in society. What happened is unacceptable — not just for us but for Italian football as a whole.’ This is not the first time the 6ft 5in centre half has endured racism in Italy. He was racially abused at Lazio’s Stadio Olimpico in 2016. The chants started every time Koulibaly touched the ball and the match was stopped for three minutes. Napoli fans brought a banner to the club’s training ground in
the following days that read: ‘Honour your colour, Koulibaly.’ Racism continues to undermine Italian football. Former Manchester City forward Mario Balotelli was aghast this year when, as a contender for the vice-captaincy role for the national team, fans unfurled a banner that insisted Italy captains should have ‘Italian blood’. In 2013, Manchester United’s Paul Pogba and West Ham’s Angelo Ogbonna suffered racist abuse while playing for Juventus against Lazio. It remains to be seen whether this episode will lead Koulibaly to seek a career outside Italy. On a dreadful evening in Milan, an Inter supporter was killed following violence between supporters. The 35-year-old was reportedly struck by a van. Four Napoli supporters were also injured and one was stabbed.