The recent racist incident involving Romelu Lukaku, a Belgian professional football player, has caught the attention of people across the world.
Roc Nation stands behind Romelu Lukaku in racism row
On Tuesday, during a game between Inter Milan and Juventus F.C. at Allianz Stadium in Turin, Lukaku was subjected to monkey chants by a group of hateful fans.
This is not the first time Lukaku has faced such behaviour, having been targeted by a racist group of fans in 2019 after his squad defeated Cagliari.
Jay-Z‘s agency, Roc Nation, which represents Lukaku, has taken a stand against racism in fooball by purchasing a full-page advertisement in Italy’s daily sports newspaper, La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The advertisement called on Italy, as well as the worldwide community of sports, to denounce this racist behaviour and hold bigots accountable to a human standard.
It emphasised that black players have been subjected to hatred during professional football games in the form of monkey chants, racial slurs, and banana peels being thrown at them.
Roc Nation also urged Italians to take action to stop these ugly acts and work together to cut racism out of the game for good.
Unfortunately, this incident is not an isolated one in the world of football.
Racism has been a persistent problem in the sport for years, with players from diverse backgrounds facing abuse from fans and even fellow players.
In 2019, the Italian football federation announced that it would be implementing new measures to combat racism, including the suspension of matches if there were racist incidents, fines for teams whose fans were involved in such behaviour, and the closure of stadiums in severe cases.
However, these measures do not seem to have had much of an impact, given that Lukaku was still subjected to racist behaviour on Tuesday.
Racism in Europe: What are sports bodies doing to address it?
It is important to understand that racism in football is not just a problem in Italy, but also in other countries.
In recent years, several high-profile incidents of racism have occurred in other European countries, including England, Spain, and Bulgaria. In 2019, England’s national team faced racist abuse during a match against Bulgaria, with some fans making monkey chants and Nazi salutes.
The incident led to calls for stronger action against racism in football, including the implementation of stricter penalties for those involved in such behaviour.
In addition to the emotional toll that racism can take on players, it can also have serious consequences for the sport as a whole.
Racist behaviour by fans can lead to matches being suspended or even cancelled, resulting in financial losses for clubs and disruption to the sport’s schedule. It can also damage the reputation of the sport and make it less attractive to sponsors and fans.
To combat racism in football, it is important for all stakeholders, including players, team owners, artists, brands, and fans, to denounce such behaviour and work together to hold bigots accountable.