Credit: Twitter
Inter Milan earned a 1-1 against Juventus in the first-leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final at Turin in a feisty Tuesday night encounter. It was Romelu Lukaku who scored the equaliser for Inter Milan off a penalty in the 95th minute after Juan Cuadrado gave the hosts Juventus the lead in the 83rd minute. However, three players Lukaku, Cuadrado and Samir Handanovic made the headlines after receiving red cards at the same time for violent conduct.
Just after Romelu Lukaku converted the spot kick for the visitors, the crowd in the Allianz Stadium were seen making racist noises and gestures towards him. Lukaku was quick to gesture back to the home fans and told them to "shut it". Seeing all that unfold, the referee had no choice but to give him the second yellow and sent him off.
Lukaku and Cuadrado exchanged words:
Afterwards, a scuffle between Inter and Juve players broke out, where Juan Cuadrado and Samir Handanovic were in the thick of the action and received straight red cards once the match finished.
Watch the video here:
The representative of Romelu Lukaku, the President of Roc Nations Sports International, Micheal Yorkmark said this about the incident through his company’s Twitter account, "Tonight’s racist remarks made towards Romelu Lukaku by Juventus fans in Turin were beyond despicable and cannot be accepted. Romelu scored a penalty late in the game. Before, during, and after the penalty, he was subjected to hostile and disgusting racist abuse. Romelu celebrated in the same manner he has previously celebrated goals. The referee’s response was to award a yellow card to Romelu."
"Romelu deserves an apology from Juventus, and I expect the League to condemn the behaviour of this group of Juventus supporters immediately. The Italian authorities must use this opportunity to tackle racism, rather than punish the victim of the abuse. I am certain that the footballing world shares the same sentiment."
The second-leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final between Inter Milan and Juventus will be played later this month at the San Siro. In this encounter, Lukaku, Cuadrado, and Handanovic will be banned from taking part due to their red card incidents.
