Juventus Football Club has condemned the alleged racist abuse directed towards American midfielder Weston McKennie. This occurred during Tuesday’s Coppa Italia semifinal first leg against Lazio. The incident occurred when McKennie was substituted in the 89th minute. He had just set up Dusan Vlahovic’s second goal, which helped Juventus secure a 2-0 lead.
Investigating Discriminatory Chants
In a statement Juventus has loitored that some videos are being circulated on social media, purportedly capturing derogatory songs in the direction of McKennie, at the moment he was being substituted, from the Lazio’s fans. The club released a statement that McKennie himself had been consulted about the allegations. It also mentioned that it was withholding any details to protect the innocent. The club also called for the perpetrators’ identification after verifying the events.
“Juventus take note of the video circulated on social networks … from which it would emerge the intonation of discriminatory chants coming from the visiting sector and directed at Weston McKennie during his substitution,” the statement read. “Following confirmation of the incident by the player, the club communicates that it has activated all procedures aimed at verifying what happened and will fully cooperate in order to identify the persons responsible.”
Zero Tolerance for Discrimination
Never again. pic.twitter.com/BxDEcwmLoo
— JuventusFC ???? (@juventusfcen) April 4, 2024
Juventus FC have communicated a crystal clear, uncompromising position against discrimination by a photo with a solid black and white piture of McKennie on their main social networking sites, along with a picture of his face and the caption “Never again”. Such behaviour conveys Juventus’ commitment to shaping an all-inclusive environment that is free from any kind of prejudice.
The Italian football authorities have taken a proactive approach to addressing incidents of racism and discrimination in recent years. Last November, Fiorentina received a suspended partial stadium ban for one match. This action was taken after fans directed racist and discriminatory chants at McKennie, Vlahovic, and Moise Kean during a game against Juventus.
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Awaiting Further Investigation
The statement raised mixed feelings within Lazio. Firstly, the club was not fast to mention the incident and many people pointed out that they are still not doing everything they can to fight discrimination in Italian football. Juventus strive to cooperate fully with applicable authorities in the course of an investigation process. They sever ties with the implicated parties if proven guilty.
One takeaway of this occurrence is that there is a continued urgency for the swiftness of the educational activities and campaign to spread the culture of toleration and acceptance within football. Investigation and reporting will be essential in understanding the whole situation. Fans and other people affiliated closely with the club are awaiting the final results and actions to be taken.
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