Torino coach Ivan Juric thanks the referee for stopping play after racist abuse from Spezia fans. ‘I force myself not to react, but after a while, you just can’t do it anymore.’
The use of offensive and racist insults towards players and coaches from the Balkans is unfortunately growing in Serie A stadiums, as after Dejan Stankovic and Dusan Vlahovic, now Juric has been subjected to this unacceptable abuse.
People specifically behind the Torino bench at the Stadio Alberto Picco repeatedly insulted Juric just before half-time and the Croatian walked away from the situation.
The referee and fourth official realised what was happening and suspended the game for two minutes, while a statement was read out on the loudspeaker for the whole stadium to hear, as per protocol.
Spezia captain Emmanuel Gyasi also told the fans to stop, but when the statement was read out warning the game would be halted if racist abuse continued, the entire crowd chanted ‘Buffoon’ at Juric.
“The insult was gypsy,” confirmed Juric to DAZN after his team crushed Spezia 4-0.
“It was the usual insults, it’s incredible this disgusting thing continues in 2023. I always try to stay calm in these situations, I force myself not to react, but after a while, you just can’t do it anymore. It’s not a good thing to experience.”
Juric had praise for referee Marco Guida, but the reaction of the rest of the crowd when play was halted for racist abuse made by a few individuals only further sullied the reputation of the Spezia supporters.
“The referee realised the situation and knew how to deal with it to calm things down. It was really nasty, because you feel hurt and offended. This isn’t fair, it’s a bad trend we’re going towards here.
“I also want to point out that only a few people called me a gypsy, but a moment later the whole stadium was chanting to call me a buffoon. At that point, everyone got sucked into this ugly situation. They all ought to be ashamed of themselves.”