Juve v Inter must be stopped for racism - players' chief
Saturday's Serie A game between Juventus and Inter must be stopped if racist chanting is heard, the Italian players' union chief said today.
Juve were forced to play a game behind closed doors last season after fans racially abused Inter's Mario Balotelli but their supporters have again chanted against the black striker in recent matches ahead of the clash in Turin.
"It's always difficult to suspend a match but if we want to beat this evil we shouldn't fear doing it," Sergio Campana told reporters. "We have to give the captains the right to ask for the suspension of the game."
Italian soccer federation chief Giancarlo Abete has said the referee, in conjunction with the police, will be able to stop the match for 10 minutes if there is racist chanting but it is unclear what role the captains can play.
Inter skipper Javier Zanetti has said he would not hesitate to approach the referee following racist abuse but his coach Jose Mourinho is wary of unilaterally pulling off his players in case his side is penalised.
Balotelli, born in Palermo, might not even be in Turin after being left out of Inter's squad for Sunday's 1-0 win over Fiorentina which sent the champions seven points clear.
Third-placed Juve, fined last week for the latest chants, are trying to control their fans but Italian soccer is rife with racism and reports says Juve's own midfielder Mohamed Sissoko was abused by Cagliari supporters in Sunday's 2-0 defeat.
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adrian borg olivier
Nov 30th 2009, 21:13
This is simply provocation coming from an Inter club that never ceases to amaze with their hypocrisy.
The chants against Balotelli ( which by the way happen in every Italian stadium ) are not because he is black but because he is the most obnoxious individual- just look at his reaction when he scores, his petty fouls, his relationship with his manager Mourinho.
Why are black players like Seedorf or Patrick Vieira not subjected to similar treatment ? Very simple because they are normal individuals which young Mr Balotelli goes all out to prove he is not.
The chants have little to do with the color of his skin although of course racism exists in Italy and in most of Europe but that is a different matter altogether and should be dealt with appropriately and immediately by the authorities.
Edward Muscat
Nov 30th 2009, 19:32
@Amanda & Alfred Before speaking of Moggi, please get your facts. He will be freed from the Naples court for having done nothing wrong. Any further comments are superfluous. Now, shall we start mentioning the unpunishable wrongdoings of Mr. Moratti, Mr. Oriali & Mr. Tronchetti Provera?
Alfred Muscat
Nov 30th 2009, 17:50
All racist chantin MUST be condemned and punished severely. Be it Juve, Inter or Milan. In this way Italian football can be cleaned form extremists. Look what the British have done.... Maybe it was not done in the past because too many interests were in play.....As for Mogggi we are now seeing what he was worth and how teams were made to win or loose for his advantage.....
david attard
Nov 30th 2009, 16:21
Correct me if I'm wrong....I don't read any Italian surnames...
Why the fuss about racism chants in Turin....Some people have a strong social conscience........AMAZING!
Amanda Sciberras
Nov 30th 2009, 15:49
Please Juve fans should not play the victims... we've all seen what your beloved management did to the name of the Italian football with calciopoli.. yes what the Inter supporters did to Zoro was also racist comments yet even here in Malta I personally have received comments like "tirbhu b team kollu suwed".. I guess that this is also racism and after all Balotelli is an Italian citizien. I think that this is all running out of hands because of Lippi trying to put Amauri in the national team and yet letting players like Cassano out of the Italian team and a lot of Italians are not happy with this decision. I think that racism should be punished and harshly... finally I wish one thing seeing Balotelli scoring and going under the curva and silencing the juve fans and saying "Guardateci sul petto e portateci rispetto"
Edward Muscat
Nov 30th 2009, 13:59
Did Mr. Zanetti approach the referee when his supporters chanted against Messina's Zoro some years ago? Or during last week's game against Bologna where his fans chanted against Milan supporters "Rossoneri Ebrei" (i.e. FC Milan fans are Jewish).
Did Abete speak in recent years to chants like:
"Se saltelli muore un altro Agnelli"
"Moggi magari muori oggi"
"Pessotto saltati di sotto"
...and other chants against the deceased ones from the Heysel tragedy?
The answer is no. Because they didn't come out from Juventus supporters.