England forward, Raheem Sterling, has led criticism of Juventus defender, Leonardo Bonucci, after the Italian defender blamed his teammate, Moise Kean, for racist chants.
Juventus visited Cagliari on Tuesday night for a Serie A game which they won 2-0.
Kean, who was born in Italy to Ivorian parents, was subjected to racist abuse by Cagliari fans after he scored the second goal.
After scoring, Kean turned to Cagliari fans and folded his arms. Supporters of the home team, in response, made noise described by Italian media as “buu” which is regarded as a racist insult in Italian football.
Some sections of the crowd also made monkey noises.
Football Italia quoted Bonucci saying that his 19-year-old teammate should have celebrated with him teammates not fold his arms at the crowd.
“There were racist jeers after the goal, Blaise (Matuidi) heard it and was angered. I think the blame is 50-50, because Moise shouldn’t have done that and the Curva should not have reacted that way. We are professionals, we have to set the example and not provoke anyone,” Bonucci said.
“All you can do now is laugh,” Sterling, who has constantly been a racist victim, wrote on Instagram in response to Bonucci’s comments.
The match was stopped for around three minutes and a warning was broadcast to the crowd.
Source: AFP
