Romelu Lukaku’s representative has labelled Corriere dello Sport’s racially insensitive front page ‘shocking’ and admitted he is ‘disappointed’ with Serie A’s efforts to tackle racism in football in Italy.
The Inter Milan striker has been at the centre of a number of racist incidents since he moved to Italy from Manchester United in the summer and was targeted with monkey chants during his second game there.
On Thursday, the newspaper published a headline with the words ‘Black Friday’ to build-up a game between Lukaku and former United team-mate Chris Smalling, who is now on loan at AS Roma.
Corriere dello Sport have refused to apologise for Thursday’s shocking ‘Black Friday’ headline
Romelu Lukaku’s agent has criticised the Italian football authorities for failing to tackle racism
There has been widespread condemnation but it follows a series of racist moments this season in the division – with the racially motivated nature of them often denied by those in the Italian game.
Lukaku’s representative, Michael Yormark, president of Roc Nation Sports International, told Sportsmail that there has to be more acknowledgment of the problem: ‘It’s shocking, I’m disappointed, basically. Almost in disbelief.
‘We’ve read a lot, heard a lot about the racial issues in Serie A, 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 at Roc Nation have met with Serie A three times. I saw the letter that was co-signed by clubs earlier this week but for me, it lacked substance. It’s one thing to say, “Here’s what we’re going to do” but you have to support that type of letter with an action plan.
The Belgian striker was racially abused at Cagliari as he prepared to take a decisive penalty
‘It’s one thing saying we all need to get better but how will you get better? How will you educate? What type of policies will you put in place to protect the player?
‘I was obviously disappointed by the headline. I understand that the content of the story did not represent what the headline spoke to but that kind of insensitivity can’t happen. With all due respect to the newspaper, the editors can’t allow that to happen. It’s unacceptable. It feeds the problem.
‘When you see a headline like that it continues to feed the issue. Change starts with the league, their teams, their policies, an action plan and it has to be taken seriously. People can’t look at this in any other way but that there is a problem.
‘What is the solution? What are we going to do about it? Denial is evident. In the conversations I’ve had with leaders in Italy, they think it’s a select few. It’s not just a select few. The problem is escalating.’
‘Organisations like Serie A need to be aggressive. They need to put an action plan together. That action plan needs to be executed, enforcing more drastic measures.’
Michael Yormark and client Lukaku had ‘an eye-opening experience’ at a restaurant in Rome
Asked whether Lukaku would consider his future at Inter Milan if the issue was not resolved, Yormark responded: ‘Rom and I communicate every day and we haven’t had that conversation.
‘His brother Jordan plays in Serie A so he had experience of the league.
‘When we signed him, we were in Rome and we experienced an incident at the restaurant that we were at. That immediately alarmed me.
‘Rom is one who has always dedicated himself to finding solutions. He’s been outspoken about racism.
‘He loves playing for Inter Milan, the team and the fans of Inter Milan have treated him beautifully, he’s comfortable in Milan.
‘But there’s a problem there and it needs to be solved and it needs to be brought to the forefront.’
Chris Smalling, Lukaku’s former team-mate at Manchester United, was also on the front page
And asked for possible solutions, he said: ‘There has to be education. The clubs, the league.
‘I’m disappointed with the way the league has handled this. The players have to bond together to help solve the problem, and collectively build an action plan.
‘When you talk about incidents in stadiums, there has to be zero tolerance. If a fan acts inappropriately and screams racial slurs, that fan needs to be removed from the venue and that fan should not be able to return.
‘If they’re a season ticket holder, that fan should have it retracted by the club. It is a privilege to be a season seat holder of a professional sports club. You have to conduct yourself a certain way, a certain professional way, with morals – anywhere in the world!
‘If you don’t, you don’t belong there. Until the clubs and Serie A put policies and procedures in place that will prevent this from happening or at least attempt to prevent racism from happening, unfortunately it’s not going to change.’
