Serie A: 171 Juventus fans to be barred for racist abuse of Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku

The Italian authorities will impose stadium bans on 171 Juventus fans found to have chanted racist abuse at Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku during a Coppa Italia semi-final earlier this month, police said on Monday (April 24).

Lukaku was subjected to abuse during the first leg at Juventus “before, during, and after the penalty” he scored to earn Inter a 1-1 draw, the player’s representatives said.

The police did not specify the length of the bans that the fans would face for the offence. They were identified using video footage from the stadium.

Inter fans also taunted their Juventus rivals during the game with chants referring to the 1985 Heysel stadium disaster, police added.

The police findings will be passed on to the soccer authorities for possible further action.

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Lukaku will play in the return leg on Wednesday after his one-match ban was overturned by the president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) as a measure to fight racism.

Lukaku was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for his goal celebration during which he held his finger up to his mouth to silence Juventus fans.

Romelu Lukaku was seen in great touch over the weekend as his Inter Milan side beat Empoli 3-0 away from home as they try to keep their hopes of a top four finish alive. They currently along with city rivals Ac Milan sit out of the top four, but the two teams will go ahead over two legs in the Champions League semifinals next month.

If either side fails to finish in the top four, they could yet secure a place in the Champions League next season if they win the competition. The tie will be the second time AC Milan will have an all-Italian affair having faced Napoli in the quarterfinal that saw them win 2-1 on aggregate, while Inter got the better of Benfica in the other quarterfinal.

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