May 1 – Pescara’s former Ghanaian international midfielder Sulley Muntari walked off the pitch in protest at the weekend in the latest incident of racism to besmirch Italian football.
Remarkably, the referee booked Muntari, who played for both Milan clubs, for dissent after he complained about being abused, prompting him to quit the game against Calgliari in the 89th minute.
Speaking afterwards, Muntari, who was at AC Milan when then team-mate Kevin-Prince Boateng famously became the first high-profile player to walk off the pitch because of racist chanting during a friendly with lower-league side Pro Patria in January 2013, said: “”They were chanting against me from the start. In the first half, I saw that there were some children in the group and so I turned to their parents and gave them my shirt, to set an example.
“The issue continued with another group of fans. I was reasoning with them, but the referee told me I had to let it go. That’s when I got angry. Because instead of stopping the game, he decided to punish me. I asked him if he had heard the insults. I insisted that he must have the courage to stop the game.”
Italy is still struggling to wipe out racism in football and Pescara boss Zdenek Zeman, whose relegated side lost 1-0, said: “Muntari asked the referee to intervene, but he [said he had] neither heard nor seen anything. Muntari was right, but he shouldn’t have left the pitch. It’s not up to us to dole out justice. We can talk a lot about it but then it must be left with the powers that be.”
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1713911673labto1713911673ofdlr1713911673owedi1713911673sni@w1713911673ahsra1713911673w.wer1713911673dna1713911673