Kalidou Koulibaly is fuming for what happened in Florence Sunday. He and Napoli want to take things further to address the racist chants, which have routinely targeted the defender during his time in Italy. If they heard them again, they will stop the match, La Repubblica reports. President Aurelio De Laurentiis is fully behind his star.
It would be the first time it occurred in Italy since 2005. Marc Zoro urged the referee to halt a game between Messina and Inter due to boos coming from the opposing supporters. Kevin-Prince Boateng abandoned a pre-season friendly against Pro Patria for the same reason in 2013.
At the end of the Fiorentina fixture, a few fans racially abused Koulibaly, André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, and Victor Osimhen. The local authorities and the Italian Football Association both opened an investigation.
According to the news agency Ansa, the slurs came from the Curva Fiesole, where the ultras sit. The policemen are looking at the footage to find out who was responsible. The federal prosecutor suggested they came from a group and not from one or two people. The incident took place while Koulibaly was giving his post-game comments. The center-back notified the League’s delegate on the pitch, on top of responding from afar.
Fiorentina are collaborating with the inquiry: “Our director Joe Barone personally apologized for these shameful and unacceptable chants. Once identified, we will prohibit the culprits from entering the stadium. We invite the other teams to do the same, as the rules must be applied equally everywhere.”