Smalling and Lukaku hit out at ‘dumb’ paper
Racism storm over Italian front page
CHRIS SMALLING and Romelu Lukaku have condemned an Italian newspaper after it printed a racially insensitive headline alongside pictures of them yesterday.
In the build-up to tonight’s clash between Smalling’s Roma and Lukaku’s Inter Milan, Corriere
dello Sport ran the headline ‘Black Friday’ and the publication has now been banned by Roma and AC Milan from their training facilities for the rest of the year.
Smalling, who is on a season-long loan from Manchester United, posted on social media: ‘ Whilst I would have liked to spend the day focusing on the big game, it is important that I acknowledge that what occurred this morning was wrong and highly insensitive.
‘I hope the editors involved in running this headline take responsibility and understand the power they possess through words, and the impact those words can have.’
Lukaku, who was subjected to monkey noises from Cagliari fans after scoring a penalty in his second game for Inter, posted: ‘Instead of focusing on a battle between two teams... Corriere dello Sport comes with the most dumbest of headlines I have ever seen in my career.’
Lukaku’s representative Michael Yormark was shocked by the headline and has been disappointed with Serie A’s efforts to tackle racism in football in Italy.
‘It’s shocking. I’m disappointed, basically. Almost in disbelief,’ he said. ‘We’ve read a lot, heard a lot about the racial issues in Italy with regards to football and the racism that exists. Romelu faced that in his second match of the season.
‘He’s been outspoken about it. We have met with Serie A three times. I know they came out with a letter earlier this week but with all due respect it had no substance. It’s one thing to say, “Here’s what we’re going to do” but you have to support that with an action plan.’
Asked whether Lukaku would consider his future at Inter Milan if the issue was not resolved, Yormark responded: ‘He knew what he was getting himself into to some degree because his brother Jordan played in Serie A. When we signed him, we were in Rome and we experienced an incident at the restaurant that we were at. I’m not going to go into the details but it was eye-opening and alarming for me.’
Corriere dello Sport editor Ivan Zazzaroni posted a statement on his paper’s website claiming the intention was to celebrate diversity in football.
Zazzaroni wrote: ‘“Black Friday”, for those who want to understand it and can understand it, was only praising diversity, taking pride in diversity, the magnificent wealth of diversity. If you don’t understand it, it’s because you can’t do that. It’s an innocent article, perfectly argued, that has been made poisonous by those who have poison inside them.’