ROME – Roma have issued a lifetime stadium ban to one of its
fans for directing racist abuse against one of the club's players,
Brazilian defender Juan Jesus.
Juan Jesus received the insults via private messages on Instagram. He
posted a screenshot and urged his club to take action.
"@officialasroma You already know what to do with a fan like this.
#notoracism. Proud to be what I am," the 28-year-old, who has been
with Roma since 2016, wrote.
The club reacted on Twitter, writing late on Thursday that the fan's
account was reported to police and Instagram, and its owner would
never again be admitted to an AS Roma game.
The account appeared to be no longer active on Friday.
Racism in Italian football is a sore issue.
"The situation in Italy has not improved and this is a serious
problem," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said Sunday on Italian
public television RAI.
His comments came hours after the Atalanta-Fiorentina game was
briefly suspended as Atalanta fans jeered Fiorentina's Brazilian
defender Dalbert.
Italian fans regularly hurl racist abuse at black players from rival
teams. Earlier this season, it happened to Inter's Belgian striker
Romelu Lukaku and AC Milan's Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie.