Italian team escapes punishment for racial abuse of Romelu Lukaku

ROME – Italian team Cagliari has avoided punishment from Serie A after supporters aimed racist abuse at Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku.

The monkey chants were audible on a video from the stands that was shared on social media. The abuse came after Lukaku scored a penalty.

But Serie A’s disciplinary body determined it was not admissible in the case and evidence from police was not deemed sufficient to punish Cagliari.

Moise Kean was subject to racist abuse when he played against Cagliari for Juventus last season, as was Blaise Matuidi the year before.

The Italian league did not sanction Cagliari for either incident, nor did they do so when Sulley Muntari was abused by the same team’s fans in 2017.