Inter Milan fans issue appalling letter to Romelu Lukaku to say monkey chants are not racist but ‘a form of respect’

Inter Milan ‘ultras’ have written an appalling letter to the club’s striker Romelu Lukaku that claims the monkey chants that he was subjected to during the weekend’s Serie A clash with Cagliari were “not racist” but a “form of respect”.

The letter, which appeared on the L’urlo della Nord Facebook fan group, makes the extraordinary claim that the Cagliari supporters who taunted Lukaku for the colour of his skin were only doing so to put him off his game.

It also claims that Italy does not have a racism problem “like many other north European countries”, and that Lukaku’s decision to call for action against the racist abuse seen in Italian football is “helping the repression against all football fans”.

The post read: “We are writing you on behalf of the Curva Nord, yes, the guys who welcomed you at your arrival in Milan.

“We are really sorry you thought that what happened in Cagliari was racist. You have to understand that Italy is not like many other north European countries where racism is a REAL problem.

“We understand that it could have seemed racist to you but it is not like that. In Italy we use some ‘ways’ only to ‘help our teams’ and to try to make our opponents nervous, not for racism but to mess them up.

“We are a multi-ethnic fans organisation and we have always welcomed players from everywhere.

“However, we have always used that ‘way’ with other teams' players in the past and we probably will in the future. We are not racist and so are not the Cagliari fans.

“You have to understand that in all Italian stadiums people cheer for their teams but at the same time they use to cheer against the opponents not for racism but to "help" their own team.

“Please consider this attitude of Italian fans as a form of respect for the fact they are afraid of you for the goals you might score against their teams and not because they hate you or they are racist.

“True racism is a completely different story and all Italian football fans know it very well.

“When you declare that racism is a problem to be fought in Italy you just help the repression against all football fans including us and you contribute to create a problem that is not really there, not in the way that is perceived in other countries.

“We are very sensitive and inclusive with all people. We guarantee you that in our organisation there are many fans of different races or fans coming from other parts of Italy that also use this ways to provoke their opponents even when the have the same races or are coming from the same areas.

“Please help us to clarify what racism really is and that Italian fans are not racist.

“The fight to REAL racism has to begin in schools not in the stadiums, fans are just fans and they behave in different ways when inside the stadium as opposed to when they are in real life.

“I guarantee you that what they do or say to an opponent player of another race is not what they would ever say to someone they would meet in real life.

“Italian fans may not be perfect and we can understand your frustration with this expressions but they are definitely not meant to be racist.”

The letter appeared after Lukaku issued a statement on Instagram following the racist chants he received after scoring a penalty in Inter’s 2-1 victory at Cagliari on Sunday.

“Many players in the last month have suffered from racial abuse,” Lukaku wrote on Monday. “I did yesterday too. Football is a game to be enjoyed by everyone and we shouldn't accept any form of discrimination that will put our game in shame.

“I hope the football federations all over the world react strongly on all cases of discrimination!!!

“Social media platforms (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook...) need to work better as well with football clubs because every day you see at least a racist comment under a post of a person or colour... we've been saying it for years and still no action...

“Ladies and gentlemen it's 2019. Instead of going forward we're going backwards and I think as players we need to unify and make a statement on this matter to keep this game clean and enjoyable for everyone.”

Lukaku’s abuse follows similar treatment to Everton’s Moise Kean, who was targeted by Cagliari fans when playing for Juventus last season, yet Serie A took no action against the club because it had an “objectively limited relevance”. In the past, Samuel Eto’o, Sulley Muntari and Blaise Matuidi have all been racially abused when playing against Cagliari over the last decade.