The decision of the Turin Prosecutor’s Office on the events that occurred in the Coppa Italia semi-final between Juventus and Inter has been revealed. The Corriere della Sera reported on the decision regarding the racist chants against Lukaku.
According to the report, the Prosecutor’s Office stated, “The jurisprudence, in the past, has ruled that the emission of guttural sounds, as a typical reference to the howling of monkeys, is characterized by evident connotations of racial discrimination and therefore can constitute the hypothesis that sanctions the commission of acts of discrimination for racial reasons.”
The Prosecutor’s Office also added, “The fact that such conduct was carried out by a multitude of people, who evidently acted by influencing each other, as well as the fact that such conduct did not persist for a significant amount of time and, lastly, that it was carried out for obvious reasons of sporting rivalry (fans of the opposing team) leads to the categorization of the fact under the provisions of article 131 bis of the penal code.”
Furthermore, the report stated, “The behavior is certainly not ordinary and it is therefore possible to proceed with the filing for particular seriousness of the fact.”
This decision comes in the wake of the incident during the Coppa Italia match, where Lukaku was subjected to racist abuse by some fans.
Source: Corriere della Sera