Lukaku Ban Overturned by FIGC in Statement Against Racism
Milan, Apr 23 (AP) Romelu Lukaku's one-match ban was overturned by the Italian soccer federation in what it calls a statement against racism. The Inter forward was sent off at the end of his side's 1-1 draw at Juventus after receiving a second yellow card for provoking Juventus fans by holding his finger to his lips as if to silence the crowd after converting a stoppage-time penalty. Also Read | MI vs PBKS IPL 2023 Stat Highlights: Wankhede Stadium Witnesses Multiple Records As Punjab Kings Defeat Mumbai Indians. Lukaku was therefore suspended for the second leg of the semifinals on April 26. However, the Belgium forward — who is Black — had been subjected to repeated discriminatory chants. Also Read | IPL 2023: Sam Curran, Arshdeep Singh Help Punjab Kings Overcome Mumbai Indians in High-Scoring Tie. An appeals court rejected Inter's appeal but on Saturday the federation said it had used its discretionary powers to overturn the suspension. “Having evaluated the serious show of racial discrimination that he was subjected to by opposing fans, as revealed by the prosecutor's report, this order highlights how the fight against any form of racism is one of the founding principles of the sporting system,” the federation said in a statement. Juventus had a partial stadium ban lifted on appeal earlier in the week, leading to outrage that Lukaku — the victim — was the only one punished. Lukaku's management company was furious after the incident and called for action. (AP) AM (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Sunday, April 23, 2023 at 3:48 am