The Corriere dello Sport is in the middle of a self-inflicted race storm after previewing the Inter–Roma match with a controversial ‘Black Friday’ headline.
The title referred to the Black Friday shopping phenomena, with the clash due to be played on Friday evening.
However, it also referred to the involvement of ex-Manchester United teammates Romelu Lukaku and Chris Smalling, both of whom now play for Inter and Roma respectively but are also black.
The Corriere dello Sport is in the middle of a self-inflicted race storm after previewing the Inter-Roma match with a controversial ‘Black Friday’ headline.
The title referred to the Black Friday shopping phenomena, with the clash due to be played on Friday evening.
However, it also referred to the involvement of ex-Manchester United teammates Romelu Lukaku and Chris Smalling, both of whom now play for Inter and Roma respectively but are also black.
Unsurprisingly, the choice of headline has caused a huge backlash on social media, with the two clubs and Fiorentina all expressing a hard line against the newspaper.
It comes just a week after all 20 Serie A sides signed a letter demanding stricter measures against racism, with this season already marred by several ugly incidents.
Il Corriere has yet to pull the front page down or issue a statement, only highlighting further that many Italians do not understand what racism is.
Directly beneath the headline, the publication wrote how Lukaku and Smalling had “taken strong positions against racism” and were “symbols of the two teams”.
No one:
Absolutely nobody:
Not a single soul:
Corriere dello Sport headline writer: pic.twitter.com/u2xpMLV5IH
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) December 5, 2019
Football is passion, culture and brotherhood.
We are and always will be opposed to any form of discrimination.
#BUU #BrothersUniversallyUnited #NoToDiscrimination #FCIM— Inter (@Inter_en) December 5, 2019
Speechless. #NoToRacism #KickitOut pic.twitter.com/Y2R3COhJ1Z
— ACF Fiorentina English (@ACFFiorentinaEN) December 5, 2019