Kalidou Koulibaly highlighted how an anti-racism tournament was important considering ‘everything that’s happening’ in Italian football.
Milan duo Mike Maignan and Fikayo Tomori were racially abused by some Cagliari supporters during the Rossoneri’s 1-0 win on Saturday, sparking outrage and condemnation from the Italian footballing world. The FIGC have since opened an investigation in order to understand the incident and provide punishment if necessary.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ‘Un calcio al razzismo’ tournament organised by the Consulate of the Democratic Republic of Congo and 11 other consulates, Koulibaly first discussed the issue of racism in football.
“I am very happy and proud to be here in Naples, which is a very important city and football ground, to send out a message against all forms of racism and violence.
“Seeing so many different peoples celebrating together in this tournament, without distinction, is certainly a beautiful image and my dream is to see more and more beautiful images like this in football.
“This tournament is a beautiful initiative against all forms of racism. When they called me from the Senegalese consulate and asked me to be there, I immediately accepted. All the more so at this moment, with everything that’s happening, it was an important thing to do.”
Koulibaly then discussed the importance of the 2-1 win over Udinese on Saturday.
“There is a lot of enthusiasm among our fans and the victory against Udinese was certainly a very important victory, but it was just as important to be here, among these players who come from various countries and who, through football, have conveyed a beautiful image of hope.”
Racism is a continued problem in Italian football and this is not an isolated incident, with both Romelu Lukaku, Moise Kean and Mario Balotelli all experiencing incidents of racist abuse in recent years. Things are slowly starting to improve but its clear that further work is needed to stamp it out of the Italian game.
KALIDOU – Koulibaly: "Sono felice ed orgoglioso di essere a Napoli e di lanciare un messaggio contro ogni forma di razzismo e di violenza" https://t.co/vKUe5BBivx
— Napoli Magazine (@napolimagazine) March 21, 2022