Milan (dpa)
Milan striker Rafael Leao attacked those he described as “narrow-minded and small-minded,” after he became the latest victim of racist abuse in Italian football.
Leao re-published a message in Italian to one of the users of the social networking site “Instagram”, in which he attacked the Milan striker by saying, “I can’t stand seeing you, and I can no longer bear the idea of cheering for you on the field. You have become a racist. You and your likes should leave as soon as possible.”
Liao, 24, commented on this message, saying in Portuguese: “Unfortunately, there are still such narrow-minded and small-minded people in our world.”
This incident comes a month after Leao and his Milan teammates left the field in solidarity with team goalkeeper Mike Manian, who was subjected to racist abuse in the Udinese match.
The identity of those involved in this incident was identified, and the Udinese club punished them by banning them from attending matches for life.
The Italian club Milan supported its striker with a message via the X platform (formerly Twitter): We are always with you, Rafa. There is no place for racism among our fans and in football.
Incidents of racist abuse have been repeated in Italian and European stadiums in recent years, with prominent stars such as Kevin-Prince Boateng, Mario Balotelli and Romelu Lukaku being victims.
Lazio was punished by closing part of its stadium stands for one match last month, due to racist chants against Roma striker Romelu Lukaku.
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