Napoli confirm they’re prepared to walk off the field if there are racist chants, despite the Italian Government and FIGC insisting play should not be stopped.

FIFPro complained that play was not halted during Inter-Napoli when on three separate occasions the referee asked for a warning to be read out for racist abuse aimed at Kalidou Koulibaly.

Napoli confirm they’re prepared to walk off the field if there are racist chants, despite the Italian Government and FIGC insisting play should not be stopped.

FIFPro complained that play was not halted during Inter-Napoli when on three separate occasions the referee asked for a warning to be read out for racist abuse aimed at Kalidou Koulibaly.

However, in yesterday’s summit between Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, the Federation and representatives of clubs and ultras, it was reiterated the referee does not have the power to halt Serie A games for racist abuse.

Napoli spoke to news agency Ansa and stated they were “perplexed” by Salvini’s approach, confirming Carlo Ancelotti’s threat to walk off the field if there are racist chants aimed at their players.

Above all, Salvini – who represents far right anti-immigrant party the Lega Nord – claimed it was important to “differentiate between real racism and mere football rivalry.”

The summit only highlighted the basic problems Italian football has when dealing with racism in the stands, primarily who actually makes the decisions.

Current FIGC Prosecutor Giuseppe Pecoraro told Il Mattino there is no clarity in the current rules.

“If the inspectors of the FIGC Prosecutors are given the task of stopping play in case of racist abuse, they will take that task. We are ready to do it from the next Serie A round.

“The most important thing is that someone makes the decisions, because football cannot be held hostage by a few hundred people. (FIGC President Gabriele) Gravina said that referees cannot be expected to stop play. That’s fine, so now the proposal to give the decision to the FIGC will be discussed and, if ratified, put into action.

“Those who are on the side-lines can have a better perception of what is coming from the stands than those on the pitch. What matters now is to have clear rules and respect them.

“Until now, the FIGC observer’s job was only to signal to the referee the existence of racist abuse, but now he can take action himself.

“The other problem is that for example in England they can take a fan out of his seat and kick him out for racist abuse. In Italy, we can try to keep the delinquents away from the game during the week, but don’t have the power to remove anyone on the day.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *