On 4 April, Inter striker Romelu Lukaku was sent off for yellow cards during the Coppa Italia semi-final first leg against Juventus because the referee misunderstood his celebration. After scoring the penalty kick of the final 1-1 he had remained stationary on the spot – therefore facing the Juventus goal and the public – with his eyes closed making the military salute and the gesture of silence with a finger, as is usual for some time now for reasons of a personal nature.
The misunderstanding, understandable from the point of view of the referee on the pitch, who might not have known Lukaku’s way of cheering, was then widely ascertained at the end of the match. But two days later, the Serie A sports judge confirmed the player’s disqualification for the second leg, applying the regulation that provides for a warning in the event of provocative behavior towards the public to the letter.
The story continued to cause discussions – even abroad, given the international profile of the player – because in addition to misunderstandings and disciplinary procedures followed to the letter without taking into account the circumstances, during the match Lukaku had suffered blatant racist insults from the public , especially during and after the penalty kick. And to these insults he had responded, after the exultation, by addressing the spectators who were yelling at him.
Lukaku after the penalty and the insults received (Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
It therefore seemed even more unfair and absurd that a player who was the victim of racist insults should be disqualified for a misunderstanding, or for having defended himself, even more so considering that among the measures taken by the sports judge there was also the closure for a match in the football sector Juventus stadium (the first tier of the “South Tribune”) indicated as the one from which the racist insults had come.
Inter had therefore appealed against Lukaku’s suspension and in the meantime Juventus had collaborated with Digos in identifying two spectators among those responsible for racist chants and insults (the Turin police station subsequently imposed the Daspo on over 170 fans). Given this collaboration, Juventus had also presented an appeal against the total closure of the sector in question.
The outcomes of the appeals presented by the two teams had opposite results. That of Inter was rejected for lack of extenuating circumstances, that of Juventus accepted. The closure of the sector was therefore suspended pending a definitive decision by the FIGC Sports Court of Appeal, which last Wednesday confirmed Juventus’ reasons and definitively canceled the closure of the sector.
Inter had responded to the rejection of his appeal by writing in a press release to “express great regret in acknowledging that the victim is the only culprit”. Faced with the possible epilogue of this story is however intervened directly the president of the FIGC, Gabriele Gravina, who on Saturday “pardoned” Lukaku by removing his disqualification after having considered “the unequivocal racist insults” to which he was subjected and “the commitment of the sports system in the fight against all forms of racism” .
The player will then be able to play in the second leg semi-final, scheduled for Wednesday, and together with Inter He thanked the FIGC for the sensitivity shown. On the other hand, there were no second thoughts from the Arbitration Association (AIA), which made it known through its president: «Nothing will change from our side, we will continue to make decisions according to the rules. Anyone who goes to silence the public after being insulted will be warned, the regulation provides for it ».
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