The preview of the match in Milan between Inter and Rome has been clouded by a controversial cover of the Corriere dello Sport . The newspaper, under the headline Black Friday, offers the image of Romelu Lukaku and Chris Smailling, two black players who shared costumes at Manchester United and who are measured on the lawn of Giuseppe Meazza on Friday.
The pun on the traditional sales day, held last week, has unleashed the controversy in Italian football, agitated in recent weeks by racist chants against Mario Balotelli or Lukuku himself.
"The intention of the article is positive, but the headline has totally overshadowed the anti-racist message that develops later," says Paul Rogers, head of communication for Rome, in statements to the BBC. In Rogers' view, this "terrible" cover "creates new problems at a time when we are all trying to address the issue of racism" in Series A.
Inter, on the other hand, expressed their discomfort in a message spread through their social networks. "Football is passion, culture and brotherhood. We will always oppose any form of discrimination," emphasizes the club neroazzurro .
For its part, FARE (Soccer against Racism in Europe) has also condemned the first page of Corriere dello Sport . "The media stoke racism every day," says this independent entity through its Twitter account.
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