Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly says the fans wearing masks with his face made him “emotional” after he was racially abused against Lazio.
The Senegalese international was subjected to monkey chants against the Biancocelesti, and his own fans responded by donning masks with his face on.
“It’s a problem which doesn’t only exist in Italy,” Koulibaly warned in his interview with Il Mattino.
“After the game against Lazio everything came to light, now an effort is being made.
Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly says the fans wearing masks with his face made him “emotional” after he was racially abused against Lazio.
The Senegalese international was subjected to monkey chants against the Biancocelesti, and his own fans responded by donning masks with his face on.
“It’s a problem which doesn’t only exist in Italy,” Koulibaly warned in his interview with Il Mattino.
“After the game against Lazio everything came to light, now an effort is being made.
“I remember that in the next game, all the fans at the stadium wore a mask of me. I was very emotional, it was an incentive to give even more; 60000 people wearing my mask to make me feel one of them.
“We know that our fans are criticised, especially in the north. I’m sorry about that, a country should be united regardless of geographical distance.
“Instead I often hear chants against Napoli fans which feel like those against people of colour. You can’t just fight racism on a city level, it has to be done on a national level and even higher.
“I know it’s a sensitive subject in Europe right now, when you see so many foreign people in your country it can be scary, but if you go to them you can’t be surprised.
“I went to France, but it’s also true that France helped Senegal a lot. My father speaks of France as his second country, and I speak both Sengalese and French.
“Everyone in my family speaks French, my wife is French. When my son speaks Senegalese or French – or even a few words in Italian – it makes me smile.
“Some would be surprised, but it makes me happy. I think that’s real integration.
“Slavery is something which really affects me, it seems to me that we’re going backward. It’s difficult to remove certain ideas from people's heads, but when you see that in some places in the world this kind of thing happens, you understand that you can’t go back to those times.
“We’re all the same, with no differences, regardless of nationality or colour.
“When I arrived in Naples many people spoke ill of this city, and I don’t understand why. Here I found the sea, and the people who immediately treated me as one of their own.
“I immediately got on with my neighbours, who are Napoli fans of course. A lot of them know my son’s name too. They really do treat me as though I’m at home, I’m very happy.
“Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X taught me that nothing is impossible with sacrifices. They achieved a lot for people of colour and not just them. Never give up, but always fight.
“When I first came here I struggled, now I feel like a leader. Those two people gave me that idea.
“In terms of footballers, I can’t help but have [Lilian] Thuram and [Patrick] Vieira as role models, having grown up with them at France ’98.
“I hope to reach them in terms of their personalities off the pitch, football isn’t the only thing in the world. Obviously though I’ll think about that after.
“My father always sweated to get the things we had. I always had what I needed, even though it was hard. My father gave more to me than to himself.
“It’ll be difficult for my son, but I want to teach him that nothing in life comes easy, if you want something you have to earn it.
“But now I have my parents who want to give their grandson everything!”