Juve given one-match partial stadium ban for racist abuse aimed at Lukaku

Juventus have been given a one-match partial stadium ban after their supporters racially abused Inter striker Romelu Lukaku.

Lukaku was targeted by opposition fans before and after scoring a penalty in the fifth minute of added time to earn Inter a 1-1 draw in Tuesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final first leg.

The Belgium international was issued a second yellow card for putting his fingers to his lips to silence the Allianz Stadium crowd.

Serie A announced on Thursday that Juve must close the lower tier of the South Stand for their next home league game, which is against Napoli on April 23.

The judge overseeing the case stated that “the majority of the 5,034” spectators in that stand were guilty of racially abusing Lukaku.

Lukaku will still serve a one-match ban in the return fixture with Juve on April 26 for his sending off, which sparked a mass melee near full-time.

Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic and Juve midfielder Juan Cuadrado were both dismissed for their parts in the scuffle, and will serve one and three-game bans respectively.

Penalty pro

18 out of 18 converted in Nerazzurri colours #ForzaInter #JuventusInter #CoppaItaliaFrecciarossa pic.twitter.com/uy9XtFmsOW

— Inter (@Inter_en) April 4, 2023

Lukaku, who is on loan at San Siro from Chelsea, has been subjected to racism on numerous occasions in Italy and this week called for more serious action to be taken.

“History repeats. [I’ve] been through it in 2019 and [now in] 2023 again,” he posted on his official social media channels.

“I hope the league really take actions for real this time because this beautiful game should be enjoyed by everyone.

“Thank you for the supportive messages. F*** racism.”

Juve intend to work closely with authorities to identify the fans responsible and issue bans.