In the second part of his interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, France star Kylian Mbappé said Juventus and Inter players should have left the pitch when Romelu Lukaku was racially abused at the Allianz Stadium in April.
The Belgian forward was targeted by a group of Juventus fans in Curva Sud on April 4 in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semis between the Bianconeri and Inter in Turin.
Less than one month after the incident, 171 fans were identified and received a DASPO, a temporary ban from Italian stadiums, while Juventus banned many of them for life. However, Mbappé believes more must be done to tackle racism in football.
“We footballers must leave the field and understand we have the power to change things,” he said.
“PSG did it against Basaksehir in the Champions League in 2020 and the game was replayed. To complain is no longer enough. In 2023 we can no longer allow a minority to ruin the pleasure of football.
“Aside from money and fame, we play to give the fans joy to watch football. You no longer want to do it if they treat you as a monkey.
“Some racists will always be out there, but we need more solidarity between footballers. As for Lukaku, Inter and Juventus’ players should have left the pitch. Rivalry doesn’t count. Racism goes beyond football. Institutions must change, and rules must be changed. As France’s captain, I will battle for this.”
Lukaku received two yellow cards during the game, the second one following a goal celebration that was seen as ‘disrespectful’ towards the Juventus Curva.
However, FIGC President Gabriele Gravina pardoned him, and cancelled the second yellow card plus the resulting one-match ban in ‘statement against racism.’
During his interview with Gazzetta, Mbappé also discussed his future at PSG and shared his thoughts on European Finals played by Serie A clubs in 2022-23.