Three supporters of Cagliari Calcio, the football club in the capital of Sardinia, have been banned for life for racist shouting during matches in Serie A, the Italian first division, this season. In a statement Friday, February 14, the formation argued that these evictions " avoid(Ouch)are the culprits of these deplorable acts of entering the Sardegna Arena, for all the events to come ".
The Cagliari Calcio did not specify which incidents were targeted, citing only facts that had occurred during the " last months ". The Sardinian club stadium has often been the scene of racist shouts from supporters towards black players, including Italian international striker Moise Kean and his former Juventus teammate Blaise Matuidi.
Open letter from Milan supporters
It is more likely, however, that the club will make reference to Romelu Lukaku, who in September became the most prominent victim of racism in Italy, when Sardinian fans targeted him with cries of monkey, just before he only scored a decisive penalty in a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan. The Milanese club also has an unconditional fringe of far-right supporters. The latter had thus published an open letter arguing that the shouts which had targeted their star attacker at Cagliari were not "Not racist".
Supporters at Hellas Verona have also sent racist chants to forward Mario Balotelli this season. In December 2019, Romelu Lukaku and English AS Rome defender Chris Smalling were amazed by the "front page" of the Corriere dello Sport, whose title was "Black Friday" before their first face-to-face in Serie A.
