Serie A has a pretty awful record regarding racism in football, and some of the reasons behind that shameful aspect of Italian football were made clear today. Sulley Muntari, the former Portsmouth midfielder who went on to win the Champions League under Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan, is still playing in Serie A with Pescara. Today, he was in action against Cagliari, where he was subject to racist chants from the Cagliari supporters.
Muntari complained to the referee about the chants....and got booked as a results. The referee claimed to have not heard the chants. Muntari went on to complain to the referee:
Have some balls & do something about it. Your a referee, don't just keep your whistle in your mouth.
So Muntari is under criticism for approaching the fans, the referee told him "your not allowed to do this" pic.twitter.com/cNZ7gdIvwL
— ItalianFootballTV (@IFTVofficial) April 30, 2017
Muntari than hit back at the referee:
"Have some balls & do something about it. Your a referee, don't just keep your whistle in your mouth" pic.twitter.com/QhbkYNZWki
— ItalianFootballTV (@IFTVofficial) April 30, 2017
In protest, Muntari left the field with a few minutes remaining, meaning that his team finished the game with ten men, and ultimately lost 1-0.
After the game, Muntari told Italian TV that one of those who abused him was a child sitting in between his parents, who did nothing to stop the torrent of abuse. An emotional Muntari explained the reasons behind his walk-off after the game, too:
What am I supposed to do? Just stand there & let it go? That sets a bad culture. We need this to stop.
Alessandro Del Piero praised Muntari's stance after the game, telling the midfielder that "you handled things perfectly, you're setting the example for tomorrow. You did everything right".
