AC Milan striker Rafael Leão has hit out at "narrow-minded" people after becoming the latest victim of racial abuse, as the problem continues to plague Italian football.
Football: Rafael Leão victim of racist insults on Instagram
Rafael Leao during the first leg of the Europa League match between AC Milan
-
Copyright © africanews
Antonio Calanni/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved
Leão shared an Instagram story from a social media user who wrote in Italian: "I can't stand seeing you anymore. I can't stand supporting you on the pitch anymore. I'm becoming racist... Leave asap, you and your followers".
On Tuesday, Leão, 24, commented on the matter in Portuguese: "Unfortunately, there are always these kinds of narrow-minded people in the world. "
This new racist incident in Italian football comes exactly a month after Leão left the field with the rest of his Milan teammates after Rossoneri goalkeeper, Mike Maignan, was the victim of racist insults at Udinese. The supporters were quickly identified and banned for life by Udinese.
“We are with you Rafa,” Milan said in a message on X. “In our group of supporters and in football there is no place for racism.”
Numerous racist incidents have taken place in Italian and European football for years, with victims in Italy such as Kevin-Prince Boateng, Mario Balotelli and Romelu Lukaku.
Last month, Lazio were punished with a partial stadium closure for racist chants against Lukaku.