Romelu Lukaku’s representative is “almost in disbelief” at the Corriere dello Sport ‘Black Friday’ headline and their refusal to apologise for its racist connotations.
The front page of this morning’s newspaper has been widely condemned for being racist, as it referred to Inter striker Lukaku and Roma defender Chris Smalling with the headline: ‘Black Friday.’
Romelu Lukaku’s representative is “almost in disbelief” at the Corriere dello Sport ‘Black Friday’ headline and their refusal to apologise for its racist connotations.
The front page of this morning’s newspaper has been widely condemned for being racist, as it referred to Inter striker Lukaku and Roma defender Chris Smalling with the headline: ‘Black Friday.’
“It’s shocking, I’m disappointed, basically. Almost in disbelief,” Michael Yormark of Roc Nation Sports International told Sportsmail.
“We at Roc Nation have met with Serie A three times. I know they came out with a letter earlier this week but with all due respect it had no substance.
“It's one thing to say, "Here's what we're going to do" but you have to support that type of letter with an action plan.”
The Corriere dello Sport not only refused to apologise for the headline, but doubled down by suggesting those who saw racist elements in it were “poisoned” by racism.
Editor Ivan Zazzaroni even went on radio today and assured he was “happy” they had chosen that headline.
“I was very very disappointed by the headline,” continued Lukaku’s representative Yormark.
“I understand that the content of the story did not represent what the headline spoke to, but those things can't happen. That kind of insensitivity can't happen. With all due respect to the newspaper, they can't allow that to happen. It's just unacceptable. It just feeds the problem.
“Their biggest issue is that, based on conversations I've had with leaders in Italy, they think it's a select few. Well guess what? It's not just a select few. This problem has become worse and worse year after year.
“Now organisations like Serie A need to be aggressive. They need to put an action plan together. They need to execute that action plan. They need to enforce that action plan – now – because the problem has got so serious there has to be drastic measures taken.”
Yormark even reveals the incidents of racism started from the moment Lukaku landed in Italy to sign for Inter.
“He knew what he was getting himself into to some degree because his brother Jordan played in Serie A. When we signed him, we were in Rome and we experienced an incident at the restaurant that we were at. I'm not going to go into the details, but it was eye-opening for me and alarming for me.
“Rom loves playing for Inter Milan, the team and the fans of Inter Milan have treated him beautifully, he's comfortable in Milan. But there's a problem there and it needs to be solved and it needs to be brought to the forefront. Stop hiding.”