The Fiorentina fan who racially abused Kalidou Koulibaly on Sunday will be identified and banned from the Artemio Franchi for life, it’s reported.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Fiorentina and Digos, the political intelligence branch of the Italian Police, are checking the videos from the security cameras of the Stadio Franchi and have identified one fan who is suspected of having targeted Koulibaly.
The Napoli defender received racial abuse after the match between the Partenopei and Fiorentina from a fan in the Curva Fiesole.
Insulti a Koulibaly, c’è il video incriminante: il razzista sarà bandito dal Franchi #razzismo https://t.co/XgPwZKJWh5
— La Gazzetta dello Sport (@Gazzetta_it) October 6, 2021
The day after the game, Koulibaly wrote on social media that he had been called ‘f****** monkey’ and Fiorentina apologised to the defender and the club.
The Tuscans are now working with Italian authorities to discover the fan’s identity and ban him for life from their stadium.
Something similar happened at Turin’s Allianz Stadium last month when Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan received racial abuse from a Juventus fan.
In that case, it was easier to track down the supporter, not just because Juventus’ security system is probably the most advanced in Italy but also because the supporter had posted the video on Telegram so it was easier to identify him.
Koulibaly racially abused: ‘Identify them and keep them out of the stadiums’
Bravo Firenze.
Single stadium ban not enough, ban from all stadiums. If the disgraziato can’t behave in locale, chances are he’ll find another place to spoil. Might be difficult to enforce, but at least try dammit!