Juventus defender says blame for his teammate's racist abuse is '50-50'
League leaders Juventus played Cagliari in a Serie A game on Tuesday evening, where players faced constant chanting from fans.
Wednesday 3 April 2019 11:45, UK
Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci has said that the racist abuse received by striker Moise Kean in their game against Cagliari could be partly his own fault.
Teenager Kean faced racist abuse from the stands all night, with some fans making monkey chants at the player.
He managed to have the final laugh though, and scored a 85th minute goal to secure the win for Juventus on Tuesday night.
He then went on to celebrate in front of the home fans, who hurled more abuse at him.
After the game, in an interview with Sky Sports Italia, Bonucci said that Kean was partly to blame for the abuse, saying: "There were racist jeers after the goal."
"I think the blame is 50-50, because Moise shouldn't have done that and the Curva (Cagliari's 'ultra' fans) should not have reacted that way."
Despite placing some of the blame at the feet of opposition fans, Bonucci said that his teammate should not have riled them up either.
Fans have taken to social media to criticise Bonucci, who also scored in the game, saying that his attitude towards the chanting displayed ignorance.
A Canadian sport reporter slammed Bonucci, saying the blame is with the fans that chanted the abuse, rather than Moise.
Massimiliano Allegri, the Juventus manager, also seemed to suggest that Moise should shoulder some of the blame, telling Sky Italia: "He shouldn't have celebrated in that manner... He is a young man and he has to learn, but certain things from the crowd also shouldn't be heard."
He went on to say that he thinks fans that hurl abuse at players should face lifetime bans and finding fans that do it "can be done if the authorities want to".
"The problem is, they don't really want to."
Kean responded to the criticism on twitter, with a single emoji.
During the game, Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini led protests to the referee as the chanting grew louder, while Cagliari skipper Luca Ceppitelli tried to encourage his own fans to stop the abuse from behind the goal.
At one point, Juventus midfielder Blaise Matuidi gestured to his manager that he should take his players off the pitch.
An announcement did play out to the stadium to encourage the behaviour to stop, which led to more jeering.
The incident comes after England players were also subjected to racist abuse during their Euro 2020 qualifier in Montenegro, with Raheem Sterling reacting to the chanting by holding out his ears.
On Tuesday, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin told referees they must be braver and stop matches, to halt abuse from "loud, aggressive and primitive" fans.