Romelu Lukaku’s suspension upheld by Serie A, but Juventus’ partial stadium closure over racist chants reversed

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By Webdesk



Serie A ruled on two appeals after the controversial draw between Juventus and Inter on April 4 in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final. In that match, Romelu Lukaku received a second yellow card for his party in the 95th minute after scoring the equalizing goal. Lukaku, who had been racially insulted by the crowd, made an appeasing move to the Juventus fans to draw a yellow card, which comes with a one match ban.

Inter lost the appeal against Lukaku’s second yellow card, meaning the one match suspension remains in place. Juventus, meanwhile, won their appeal against the closure of the section of the stadium where the chants most arguably came from, meaning fans will be able to attend next Sunday’s home game against Napoli.

Lukaku, after scoring the penalty in the last minute of the game, celebrated by putting his finger over his mouth and also said “shut up” to the home fans who had been targeting him since he went on in the second half the field came. Videos surfaced of fans appearing to make monkey noises around his penalty kick.

The referee booked him for the second time after his party. Lukaku received his first yellow card of the game minutes before the end for a foul on Juventus defender Federico Gatti. The rule says that a player should be shown a yellow card if he provokes the opponent’s fans, but in this case the referee’s decision seemed harsh for a number of reasons. Of course there’s the fact that Lukaku was abused, but beyond that, the striker has regularly celebrated goals and avoided bookings in the same way.

Following the ruling, Inter released a statement standing by their player.

“The FIGC National Court of Appeal today confirmed the suspension of Romelu Lukaku, who will not be able to participate in the Coppa Italia semi-final on Wednesday. FC Internazionale Milano believes it must consolidate its support for the player and expresses its deep sorrow out on the fact that the victim has become the sole culprit.”

Lukaku’s response caused a stir worldwide, as predictably. Players like Kylian Mbappé or Vinicius Jr. publicly supported the Belgian striker, and Lukaku himself posted about it on Instagram after the game. “I’ve been through it in 2019.. and again in 2023.. I hope the league really takes action this time because everyone should enjoy this wonderful game… Thank you for the messages of support. F—racism. “

Italy’s Giudice Sportivo ruled that the laws of the sport had been respected and that Lukaku will be suspended for the second leg at San Siro next Wednesday, April 26, but has also controversially decided to close the “South Stand”. for one game, the sector where most of the videos showed the racist abuse by the home fans should be destroyed.

Juventus launched an internal investigation and identified two fans who committed the actions, and reportedly punished with suspensions, but also successfully appealed the decision, and fans in the section can attend the game against Napoli this Sunday.

The bottom line is that Lukaku will be suspended for one game after racist abuse in Turin, but Juventus will not have to keep any part of their stadium closed for even a single game.





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