In the calcio, the weeks pass and the stupidity and the wickedness remain… The Senegalese defender of Naples Kalidou Koulibaly was again the target of racist insults, at the end of the match Sunday in Bergamo against Atalanta (3-1) , slippage against which the Bergamasque club promised Monday to act.
“Any behavior that does not comply with the principles of civility and education, which have always been defended by this club, will be vigorously combated, wrote Atalanta in a press release published on its site. We do not want to give visibility to individuals who have nothing to do in our environment and therefore, without clamor or generalizations, we will act with the competent authorities in order to protect the image of the club and the city of Bergamo. . »
A video circulated on social networks on Sunday where racist insults addressed to Kalidou Koulibaly were heard in the Bergamo stadium, when he left the lawn after the meeting. The Senegalese defender has already been the target of such behavior several times this season, notably in Florence and recently in Verona.
Koulibaly received the support of the Senegalese Federation. “As with their sad habits, some supporters of Atalanta de Bergamo have again repeated their human nonsense by uttering despicable and racist insults vis-à-vis our captain and leader Kalidou Koulibaly”, explained the authority. These brainless idiots have no place in a stadium. »
The return of spectators to the stands this season, after a year of games behind closed doors due to the pandemic, has been accompanied by the reappearance of racist incidents in Italy. In addition to Koulibaly, his Nigerian teammate Victor Osimhen and the French goalkeeper of AC Milan Mike Maignan have notably been the target of racist cries.
However, sanctions remain rare in the face of this phenomenon, which is nevertheless very widespread around the transalpine lawns. Last October, the captain of the Italian team, the Tuscan Giorgio Chiellini, confided his “shame” after the insults aimed at Koulibaly in Florence.