Italian sports daily under fire over 鈥楤lack Friday鈥 headline
Print Edition
Italian clubs yesterday blasted a top sports daily鈥檚 front page as 鈥渦nacceptable鈥 and 鈥渢errible鈥 after it used 鈥淏lack Friday鈥 in a headline in reference to Romelu Lukaku and AS Roma defender Chris Smalling.
Smalling and Lukaku, former Manchester United teammates, face off at the San Siro today as Inter Milan looks to maintain top spot in Serie A by beating UEFA Champions League-chasing Roma, prompting the Rome-based Corriere dello Sport to publish the controversial headline.
The article praised the two players for taking 鈥渟trong positions against racism and are the symbols of the two clubs,鈥 but Roma tweeted 鈥渘ot a single soul鈥 would think the headline a good idea.
The club鈥檚 chief strategy officer Paul Rogers said that the choice of headline was 鈥渢errible鈥 although the article itself was 鈥減ositive.鈥
Racism is a recurrent problem in Italian football, with several black Serie A players having suffered racial abuse by fans in the first months of the season.
鈥淭he intention of the newspaper article was actually positive but this headline has totally overshadowed the anti-racist message contained within the story,鈥 Rogers said.
鈥淯nfortunately, as we鈥檝e seen on social media, more people will see that ill-judged headline on the front page than read the actual article and it creates new issues at a time when we are all trying to tackle the issue of racism in Italian football.鈥
Brescia鈥檚 Mario Balotelli was the victim of racist abuse by Hellas Verona fans last month, while AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie was also targeted by Verona supporters and Lukaku was himself abused at Cagliari, also serial offenders.
Last month, Brescia president said on the sidelines of a Serie A meeting that Balotelli鈥檚 problem was that he was 鈥渂lack,鈥 and he was 鈥渢rying to get whiter.鈥
鈥淚t is totally unacceptable to see such casual ignorance on racism,鈥 tweeted Milan.
鈥淲e will not stay silent on this issue... superficiality and ignorance on the subject of racism are no longer tolerable.鈥
Inter said: 鈥淔ootball is passion, culture and brotherhood. We are and will always be against all forms of discrimination.鈥
Corriere dello Sport was unrepentant despite the backlash, saying the headline was 鈥渙nly the praise of difference, the pride of difference, the magnificent wealth of difference.鈥
鈥淲hite, black, yellow. Denying difference is the typical macroscopic stumbling block of anti-racism racism,鈥 it said in an editorial. 鈥淎n innocent headline... is transformed into poison by those who have poison inside.鈥
Anti-racism body Fare said of the daily鈥檚 front page 鈥渢he media fuels racism every day.鈥
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