The president of FIFA, Gianni Infantinocalled on fans to “shut up all racists” after the Lecce defender, samuel umtitiand his companion, Lameck Bandwere subjected to racial abuse in their home game against Lazio on Wednesday.
Italian newspaper ‘Gazzetta dello Sport’ reported that the match was stopped for several minutes while an announcement was made in the stadium calling for the chants to stop. Local fans chanted Umtiti’s name to drown out the abuse and Lecce president Saverio Sticchi Damiani said the Catalan had asked for the match to continue.
Lecce came from behind to win the Serie A game 2-1, and Frenchman Umtiti broke down in tears. Umtiti published a message on Instagram saying: “Just football, fun, fun. The rest don’t count“.
Infantino showed his support for Umtiti and the Zambian Banda in a post on social media. “Solidarity with Samuel Umtiti and Lameck Banda. Let’s shout loud and clear: no to racism,” he wrote next to a picture of Umtiti and Banda. “May the majority of fans, who are good people, stand up to silence all racists once and for all.”
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
