Racism’s ugly head surfaced once more in Napoli’s clash against Fiorentina at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Tuscany as Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly was on the receiving end of racial slurs from La Viola supporters.
Speaking of which, Koulibaly revealed he was called a f****** m**key and called out for the identification of the perpetrators; for them to be kept out of stadiums forever.
Inter have shown their support to the Partenopei centre-back by posting on their official Twitter account. The Nerazzurri included a message that backed Koulibaly, thus encouraging the fight against racism in football.
⚫️? | #BUU
Nothing can divide us – no distance, culture, or generation, because we are brothers and sisters of the world. We are with you, @kkoulibaly26!#BrothersUniversallyUnited #FCIM pic.twitter.com/gz9vd5f7oC
— Inter ??? (@Inter_en) October 4, 2021
The incident angered Fiorentina CEO Joe Barone and prompted him to apologise to three players including Victor Osimhen and Andre Anguissa, apart from Koulibaly, for being subjected to racist chants.
According to Il Napolista (via The Athletic), Barone personally visited Napoli’s dressing room to apologise for the incident.
Earlier last month, Milan’s Tiemoue Bakayoko and Franck Kessie received similar abuse from away Lazio supporters at the San Siro due to which the Rossoneri were prompted to begin legal proceedings into the matter.