Monkey chants were directed at Inter Milan wing-back Denzel Dumfries during the champions’ trip to Lazio on Saturday evening.
Italian football has an unescapable problem regarding racist abuse being directed towards players. Racial discrimination is stitched into the fabric of their game, regardless of how many choose to ignore it.
Said problem was on display for all to see as Inter Milan made the trip to the Stadio Olimpico to take on Lazio, a game in which they were defeated 3-1 and failed to keep pace with Napoli in the race for the scudetto.
Netherlands international Denzel Dumfries was part of the Inter side that was defeated in the fixture, but you imagine he’ll care little about the outcome of the game after the racial abuse he was subjected to in the midst of the action.
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The TV cameras managed to catch one offender on film, with it being clear as day that the Lazio fan was directing monkey noises in Dumfries’ direction – absolutely abhorrent abuse that has no place in our game.
Monkeychants against Denzel Dumfries.pic.twitter.com/X2FymK6vef
— Nima Tavallaey Roodsari (@NimaTavRood) October 16, 2021
We hope that the offender is identified and punished in due course, but the authorities in Italian football have all too often given racists a slap on the wrists. We have little faith that this will end any different.