Month: September 2019

The record-breaking No. 10 will be free to negotiate terms with any club he wishes from January onwards, but his current employer is not concerned

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has confirmed that Lionel Messi is free to leave Camp Nou for nothing at the end of the season if the Argentine wizard wishes. 

Spanish daily  El Pais  caused a stir this week by revealing a clause in Messi’s contract which gives him the option to rescind his deal in Catalunya with no cost from June 2020 onwards. 

Messi is currently under contract until 2021 with Barca, having spent the entirety of his professional career at the club. 

That revelation, subsequently confirmed by  Goal , caused certain anxiety amongst Barca fans worried they could lose their star when 2019-20 comes to a close. 

Supporters of other clubs, most notably hometown idols Newell’s Old Boys, conversely are dreaming of a transfer coup unthinkable prior to the clause becoming public knowledge. 

But Bartomeu moved to calm concerns by explaining it was a common courtesy that the club extends to its playing legends. 

“Messi signed until 2021. It was agreed that at the end of the penultimate season he is at liberty to leave for free,” the Blaugrana president told  Barca TV . 

“He has earned that freedom to decide his future, but he is very Cule and I am calm. Xavi, Iniesta and Puyol had the same clause.

“We couldn’t give Messi a different clause, but I repeat, I am in no doubt he will stay for many years.”

Bartomeu’s statement echoed sentiments expressed by Gerard Pique, who confirmed on Friday that he was also aware of the Argentina’s contract situation. 

“I already knew Messi is able to leave for free at the end of each season,” Pique explained to Cadena Ser .

“But we all know the commitment Leo has to Barca and it doesn’t worry me at all. He’s earned the right to be able to choose what he does with his future after everything he’s given the club.”

Messi arrived at Barca at the age of 13 after leaving Newell’s when the Rosario side could not continue funding his hormone growth treatments. 

He has gone on to become the greatest player in Blaugrana history, with 671 competitive goals for the club and 34 major titles, including four of the five Champions League titles ever lifted by Barca.

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The World Cup winner is making a first move into coaching after hanging up his boots and admits ties to Anfield could one day lead him back to England

Xabi Alonso is pleased to see “fantastic” Jurgen Klopp working wonders at Liverpool but admits that he is “once a red always a red” and will not be ruling out a return to Anfield as a coach in the future.

The World Cup winner is taking his first steps into senior coaching with Real Sociedad’s B side, having previously spent time working in Real Madrid’s youth system.

At 37 years of age, the Spaniard acknowledges that he has much to learn.

He is fiercely ambitious, though, and having spent five years with Liverpool as a player, the 2005 Champions League winner is hoping to follow the likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in forging a successful management career.

Alonso told BBC Sport when asked if he could see himself back on Merseyside at some stage: “Well at the moment they have an absolutely fantastic manager and we all as Liverpool fans are thrilled with Jurgen [Klopp], with what he’s doing.

“You could feel he was the man because of the way he embraced the Liverpool culture, the way he connected with the fans – you could see that he could make a great job. Even the best expectations he has fulfilled. He’s the man at the moment.

“Watching the team lifting the Champions League and watching the fans enjoy it as much as we did in 2005, it brought back a lot of memories.

“We [some of the 2005 team] were in the stadium, old team-mates gathering together again, Stevie [Gerrard], Jerzy [Dudek], Sami [Hyypia], we were together celebrating what they have achieved this year.

“It was really emotional. You know how special Liverpool is, ‘once a red always a red’ – and that’s not a slogan, that’s not a logo, it’s real and we share that belonging.

“Our generation that have been playing in the Champions League for many years, we’re almost taking a step back and taking steps into management.

“It’s part of the cycle of football but for me it’s great to follow Stevie, to follow Mikel [Arteta], to follow Frank Lampard – what he’s doing and so many young managers that are already there.”

For now, Alonso will be monitoring Liverpool from afar, with it his hope that the Reds can finally end their long wait for an English top-flight title in 2019-20.

He added: “I support Mikel [Arteta] and Pep [Guardiola] a lot but my feelings are not shared at the moment. I am a Liverpool fan.

“Last season it was phenomenal, the race that both teams had. What City did, what Liverpool did, it’s going to be tough to repeat but they have the project that is stable, they know what they want but the Premier League is tough. It’s still early days, but why not?

“Jordan Henderson has become a figure in the changing room. I think he’s so respected, so important for his team-mates – that’s the sense I get from watching in the stands. For the way they play it’s very important, the energy he has.

“He’s able to take that step forwards, not backwards to make that pressure a bit higher. The way he connects with the three players up front, they play very direct and the way Liverpool is playing is the Jurgen way – the way they played at Dortmund with him and the way they play at Liverpool now.”

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The Manchester United manager believes it will be impossible to keep all of his defenders happy and at least one may have to leave

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted he may have to sell at least one centre-back before September 2 to keep all of his Manchester United players following the £80 million ($97 million) arrival of Harry Maguire.

The Norwegian currently has seven senior central defenders after Maguire’s addition to the existing ranks of Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Axel Tuanzebe and Marcos Rojo.

And while Bailly could be missing until Christmas due to a knee injury, Solskjaer says that six is still too many to keep happy without seeking an exit for at least one ahead of the European transfer deadline at the start of September amid reports that Rojo could be encouraged to leave Old Trafford.

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“That will be for us to work out, and of course I do have too many centre-backs to keep everyone happy,” Solskjaer told a pre-match press conference ahead of Monday’s Premier League trip to Wolves.

“But we need to win games, we need to perform, so we’re going to pick the players that will give us the biggest chance to win games.”

Maguire and Lindelof helped United to record a clean sheet in the 4-0 win against Chelsea on the opening weekend of the season, and Solskjaer has backed the pair to develop a formidable partnership in front of goalkeeper David de Gea.

“I think good players can play together with each other. We’ve only played once, we want the partnership to develop with David at the back,” he added.

“We want to play out from the back but we’ve got good centre-backs around as well. Axel is knocking on the door, he wants to play. I hope Victor and Harry don’t give me a reason to change. No injuries, suspensions or lack of concentration.

“They can both play, they read the game really well. Of course, Harry with his presence in the box, it’s great for any centre-back to have that presence next to them. I’m sure Victor will enjoy that.

“Then again, Rojo, Smalling, Jones, Axel, they all want to be part of that. There’s competition for those places.”

The win over Chelsea was also notable for Anthony Martial’s return as first choice in the centre-forward role for the first time since 2015-16, and Solskjaer is keen for the Frenchman and Marcus Rashford to continue their scoring ways after netting three between them in the Old Trafford triumph.

“Anthony’s had spells when he’s played number nine as a centre-forward under Van Gaal, then he’s played on the left the last few years.

“I think him and Marcus both are capable of playing both positions. Sometimes it will be Marcus through the middle and Anthony on the left, or Dan James on the left and maybe one of them on the right.

“But, of course, the goals are scored from between the posts and not the worldies that we’ve seen them score, both of them, Marcus and Anthony with curlers in the top corner or dribble. I want both of them to be more scoring easy goals because you don’t have to work too hard to score them… If you can get five extra goals like this every season, both of them, that’s 10.”

With six points from six and a European trophy in the bag, Jurgen Klopp’s side have done the business without performing at their thrilling best

Georginio Wijnaldum says Liverpool’s experience is helping them win games early in the season, even though they haven’t hit top form yet.

Premier League wins over Norwich and Southampton, either side of the UEFA Super Cup victory on penalties over Chelsea, mean Jurgen Klopp’s side welcome Arsenal to Anfield on Saturday with a 100 per cent record to their name.

With the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino all working their way back to full fitness after playing in the summer’s international tournaments, Liverpool haven’t been at their fluent best in attack or looked as solid in defence.

But, with the Gunners similarly shining in fits and starts, Wijnaldum thinks that picking up wins regardless of performance is a good sign.

“It is encouraging that we are getting results without being in top form,” he said after the Southampton game.

“It is important, especially at this time of the season, that you collect as many points as possible because basically, you have to improve during the season and that is what are trying to do and what we want to do.

“But it is also important to collect as many as points until you are at your best. It is really important that we have won the game at Southampton.

“But I don’t think you always see a team play well for 90 minutes. We just have to make sure we win games.

“Basically it doesn’t matter how you win games. You just have to learn and use that experience that you have because we won’t play a game 90 minutes counter pressing or everything goes well during a game.

“You have to use your quality and your experience and still try to win the game. That is more important than playing well over the whole 90 minutes because that is really impossible.”

Liverpool fans will point to this quality as proof of their ability to continue competing for silverware. In last season’s Champions League final, for example, they hardly produced a vintage performance but equally didn’t look like doing anything other than winning.

For now, at least, the attention is on racking up points to ensure they can challenge Manchester City in the Premier League title race once again. With City controversially dropping points against Tottenham at the weekend, capitalising with a win over Arsenal would be a welcome early boost.

The Gunners have looked promising in parts of their wins over Newcastle and Burnley, with many tipping them to return to the top four this season.

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“It is difficult to say who will be up there. We must see how the season goes for them but also us,” Wijnaldum added.

“Everyone says we will finish first or second but we must still show it and perform at the end of the season.

“We have to make sure we deal with the situations and give everything we have. They made some good signings but they were always a good team.”

The native Texan is among four new minority owners brought aboard by Anthony Precourt

Actor Matthew McConaughey has joined the ownership group of Major League Soccer expansion side Austin FC, the team have announced.

Two Oak Ventures, the parent company who owns Austin FC, revealed the news as they announced new “local ownership partners” to the club on Friday.

That group included McConaughey, a Texas native who attended the University of Texas in Austin, and frequently attends basketball and football games at his alma mater.

McConaughey has also been seen at Los Angeles FC matches, wearing Austin FC gear, as guest of that team’s part-owner, Will Ferrell.

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“Austin FC is more than a quality investment FOR Austin, it’s a quality investment IN Austin,” McConaughey said in a statement. “The most diverse and borderless game in the world is now coming to one of the most multicultural, creative and diverse cities in the world.

“Austin FC is a healthy investment in our city’s culture and future.”

McConaughey also added he considered this to be part of his legacy to the city.

“This is about legacy for me,” he said. “This is an investment in my children and our city’s future and our children’s future.

“It’s something I want to outlive me and outlive my children.”

In addition to McConaughey, local energy executive Bryan Sheffield, Marius Haas, president and chief commercial officer of Dell technologies and Edouardo Margain, a technology entrepreneur were announced as part owners.

“It is my privilege to welcome my new partners to Austin FC,” club owner Anthony Precourt said in a statement. “This group knows and loves the city of Austin and the beautiful game. I can’t think of anyone better to help us realize our ambitions as a soccer club for this entire community.”

Austin FC are set to begin play in MLS in the 2021 season. 

The club was originally set to begin earlier, as the original plan was to relocate the Columbus Crew, which was owned by Precourt at the time.

However, local business groups in Ohio stepped up to purchase the Crew, and Precourt instead gained the rights to begin an expansion franchise in Austin.

In addition to Austin FC, MLS is set to welcome multiple new franchises to the league in the coming seasons.

David Beckham’s Inter Miami side is set to begin play next year in 2020, alongside Nashville, while earlier this week, St. Louis was awarded a team to join the league in 2022.

The 20-year-old Gunners midfielder has started both games in the Premier League this season for Unai Emery’s side

Arsenal midfielder Joe Willock has paid tribute to his ‘mentor’ Freddie Ljungberg and credited the Gunners legend for his rapid progress during the past 12 months.

This time last year there were few who would have predicted that Willock would be anywhere near the Arsenal first-team, with several players seemingly well ahead of him in the pecking order.

But on Saturday he started a home game in the Premier League for the first time, playing the full 90 minutes as Unai Emery’s side backed up their opening day win at Newcastle with a 2-1 success against Burnley.

It was a special moment for the midfielder, who believes the year he spent working with Ljungberg last season while the Swede was Under-23s coach has helped him get to where he is now.

“Freddie is not only such a legend at the club, he’s an unbelievable manager and coach,” said Willock. “He’s a mentor for me, he showed me a lot behind the scenes that people don’t really know about.

“Every day I’m working with him and I’m learning from him.

“He’s improved my whole overall game. If I’m being specific, getting in the pockets when I’m playing No.10 and attacking at No.8.

“He showed me a lot of different tactics to get space and turn to attack other teams. Those are the main things really.”

Ljungberg’s return to Arsenal in the summer of 2018 coincided with Willock’s remarkable rise towards the senior side.

The 20-year-old made 13 appearances for the U23s last season under the Gunners legend, scoring seven times, and whenever he was given an opportunity with the first-team he also made an impression, finding the net three times in six games.

Willock was rewarded for his fine campaign with a start in Arsenal’s final Premier League game of last season and he followed that up with an eye-catching cameo as a substitute in the Europa League final against Chelsea.

The midfielder looked sharp throughout pre-season, scoring against Fiorentina during the tour of the United States and has now started the opening two games of the new Premier League campaign.

And with Ljungberg having joined Emery’s first-team coaching staff following a summer reshuffle which saw Steve Bould take over the U23s, he has continued to play a major part in Willock’s progress with the senior side.

“It’s nice for him to follow me up to the first-team as well,” said the England Under-21 international.

“It makes me feel more comfortable because obviously I worked with him last year. It’s a familiar face for me, it’s brilliant.”

Willock is one of three brothers who all came through Arsenal’s Hale End academy.

He is the only one still at the club, with 23-year-old Matty now at Gillingham and 21-year-old Chris on loan at West Brom from Portuguese giants Benfica.

But the trio remain inseparable, with Chris currently living next door to Joe with West Brom team-mate and former Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs.

“They are proud of me,” said the Arsenal star. “But they always believed in me and that I could do it. They knew that I always had talent.

“I believe in them in the same way. It’s my time at the moment, but I feel that their time is coming as well.

“In football, this week you are up and next week you are down, so you just take it step by step. They keep on encouraging me.”

Willock added: “We’re really close. We grew up obviously together and have been through a lot together.

“We used to stay in the same bed, all three of us, and talk about what we wanted to do – about our dreams and aspirations and I always wanted to play for Arsenal.”

Willock is now realising that dream, but there was a time not so long ago when he began to doubt whether he would ever make the grade at his boyhood club.

Physical changes during his late teens had a big impact on his game and for a time he struggled to get to grips with them.

“I was 17,” he admits. “I was growing a lot and I lost my balance.

“But I always believed in myself. I have strong backing from my family and I always believed that I could do it and make it to the first-team.

“I’m still trying to become a regular and to play every week for the team and to win games and win trophies. I’m just trying to fulfil my dream.

“The squad we have this year is amazing and it can do big things. If I can add to that with what I can bring, it’s good and that’s all I’m looking for really.”

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The Arsenal legend’s tenure in Ligue 1 lasted just months, but the former forward says he still believes he can shine if given the chance

Thierry Henry still believes that he can be a successful coach despite falling flat at Monaco, as the former Arsenal star waits for his next chance to prove himself as a manager.

The French legend took charge at his former club in October 2018 following Leonardo Jardim’s dismissal, stepping into a Monaco team in a relegation fight.

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That fight got no better under Henry, who was sacked just three months later and replaced by Jardim after four wins and five draws from 20 matches in charge.

But Henry says that, despite that setback, he still sees himself as someone that can coach at a top-level club if just given the chance.”

“I don’t think about the negative, I think about the positive. That’s why I went to Monaco and that’s why I still want to be a coach. You think about having a positive impact,” he told the Telegraph.

“Call me crazy if you want, but I love football and I believe I can be a successful coach. I’m not thinking about the pain, I’m not thinking about failure. I don’t like easy. I like to lead and it’s on me to make it happen. The same when I joined Arsenal as a player, the same when I went to Belgium with Roberto. It’s an evolution.

“Communication and honesty from the start is key. What’s the job? Is the job to stay up, is the job to win the League or be in the Champions League? 

“But how and what is success? Is success improving players? Ultimately, results are the most important thing, but I want to improve players as well.”

Henry acknowledges that his time at Monaco is poor, but the legendary striker also says he stepped into a task that was quite difficult.

The Frenchman was handed a squad that ended up finishing 17th at the end of the season under Jardim.

Henry also says he expected to be given more time to fix the team and mould it to his vision, but he was never given that time as Monaco moved on in an attempt to secure their survival from relegation.

“There is something I always say,” Henry said. “You win or you learn, and, as you can imagine, I learned a lot. I still have Monaco in my heart, it’s the club that gave me my first opportunity as a player and gave me my first opportunity as a coach, so I will always be thankful to the people who gave me that, people who are there, some are gone.

“My heart talked at the time. I wanted to go back to where I started everything. I have zero regrets about what happened. It was a very difficult task and I felt that if I’d had more time I could have done more. But if you don’t get results, no matter what the circumstances, you have to go.

“All I would say is that if you don’t pass that line and sit on the bench, then you don’t know everything. I’ve heard a lot of people give their opinion on what happened at Monaco and, boy, they were wrong, but I will never go into details.

“If I knew I only had three months, then maybe I would have acted a different way, but I was trying to plan something for the future and doing that in such a little amount of time is very difficult.

“I’m proud of what we did achieve with such a young team. We had to win in Caen and Amiens, and those six points were very important. I had no doubt that team was going to stay up because there was enough quality.

“I came out of it fully reassured that’s what I want to do, zero doubt about it. I saw some of my ex-coaches after I left and they said ‘now you can say you are a coach because you’ve been sacked. Now you are a coach Thierry’. I am not complaining and I can only say thank you to everybody, but to build a legacy and build something for the future, it takes time.”

The Brazilian had a frustrating time at Barcelona but will be free to express himself again after joining the Bundesliga champions on loan

Philippe Coutinho’s loan move from Barcelona to Bayern Munich hadn’t even been finalised, yet rival players were already hailing him as “the best footballer in Germany”.

The Copa America winner is used to that sort of acclaim back home in Brazil and was a hero at Anfield during his time with Liverpool, but he never felt the same love during his season and a half in Catalunya.

Coutinho became Barcelona’s record signing in January 2018, arriving for an initial €120 million (£105m/$136m). The Brazilian was intended to be Andres Iniesta’s heir at Camp Nou – the creative force that would make chances for Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, which he was able to do sporadically in his first few months at the club.

Ernesto Valverde deployed him on the wing in a 4-2-2-2 approach, with Ousmane Dembele often on the other flank supporting Messi and Suarez. With two attacking players in the middle, Coutinho was often forced to stay wide rather than cut inside onto his stronger foot, which had been a trademark of his time at Liverpool.

His best successes came in a 4-3-3 system, even bagging a hat-trick in Barcelona’s penultimate game of the 2017-18 campaign when Messi had been rested. A week later, the Argentine was left out again and Coutinho scored the only goal of the game against Real Sociedad, dribbling through the middle before curling the ball into the corner with a beautiful right-footed finish.

Iniesta’s departure last summer saw Valverde retain the 4-3-3, but Coutinho was initially pushed further back to allow Messi to play in the attacking trio alongside Suarez and Dembele. When he was finally given a start on the left wing, Coutinho’s form improved with goals against Sevilla and Real Madrid. He opened the scoring in the famous 5-1 Clasico thumping of Real Madrid – which Messi watched from the stands – while Suarez bagged a hat-trick in a tremendous team performance.

However, these performances were not enough to convince Valverde to start him in every game, nor were they enough for Barcelona fans, who expected more from their record signing. Club captain Gerard Pique came out in Coutinho’s defence when the attacker was booed against Rayo Vallecano.

“We have to accept the reaction of the fans – but from the inside we have to give him our support,” Pique told Marca. “Philippe is having a good season. Obviously, his cost was very high so that means there are more expectations of his performance level. It is what it is.”

After he scored against Manchester United in the Champions League, the Brazilian put his fingers to his ears, later claiming: “I have always been someone who respects everybody. The truth is that this [celebration] was for the people to see that I have to block out the sound in order to focus on a match or on my job so that it won’t affect me.”

With just five league goals in 2018-19, Coutinho is seen as an expensive flop by many around Camp Nou, with supporters glad to see him off the books following his loan move to Bayern Munich.

His loan move to the Allianz Arena, with a view to a €120m permanent transfer, has been greeted much more positively, with even Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Brandt feeling compelled to celebrate his arrival.

“Coutinho is an awesome player, I’m a big fan. He was fantastic at Liverpool. I think he played very well at Barcelona, too, even though he was under the microscope a bit more,” Brandt told the Bundesliga’s official website.

“He’s a real boon for the Bundesliga. I’m delighted that such a player has decided to move to the Bundesliga.”

That sentiment is shared by on-loan Hertha Berlin midfielder Marko Grujic, who knows Coutinho from his time at Liverpool. Grujic is even more in awe of the 27-year-old, who he believes is now the Bundesliga’s best player – eclipsing even Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski.

“It’s a big thing for the whole Bundesliga to have the possibility to see Coutinho play now,” the Serbian told Bild.

“He is a special and exciting player, he does crazy things. He’s got incredible tricks and skills in his locker. I enjoyed every training session with him in Liverpool. He will be by far the best footballer in Germany.”

Coutinho will be able to have more success in his preferred position at Bayern. He will succeed the legendary Franck Ribery, a player who also become synonymous with cutting inside onto his stronger foot. Head coach Niko Kovac has utilised both a 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 with Bayern, meaning that he has plenty of options for his versatile new signing.

The Brazilian could be an option on the left wing, in midfield, or even in the No.10 role where James Rodriguez often impressed during his loan spell in Bavaria. Wherever he plays, Coutinho will make a difference and his new team-mates are expecting him to make an instant impact due to his outstanding ability.

“I don’t think he’ll need that much time to adapt to our system and ideas,” Lewandowski told Bild. “”I think he’s the sort of player that can settle in without many problems. He is a top player. Such a player could be the difference in whether you win something or not.”

Coutinho would have continued to win trophies had he stayed at Barcelona, but now, out of Messi’s shadow, he can bag medals while also showing that he remains one of the world’s best players.

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A former Selecao midfielder feels Tite’s squad will be weaker without their number one goalkeeper, with the Reds also likely to suffer in his absence

Alisson will prove to be a “big loss” for both Liverpool and Brazil while he recovers from a calf injury, according to Kleberson.

The 26-year-old was forced off the pitch midway through the first half of Liverpool’s 4-1 opening day victory over Norwich on August 9, with no word yet on when he will return to the senior fold.

Reds’ summer signing Adrian filled in for the Brazilian in subsequent wins over Chelsea and Southampton, in the UEFA Super Cup final and Premier League, respectively, with Jurgen Klopp likely to stick with the Spaniard over the next few weeks.

With the international break just around the corner, it is not yet known whether or not Alisson will be fit enough to play a part in friendlies against Columbia and Peru.

Kleberson, part of Brazil’s 2002 World Cup winning squad, insists that the shot-stopper’s absence will be felt by Tite and Klopp while he continues his recovery.

The ex-Manchester United midfielder told us-bookies.com: “For goalkeepers, it’s never easy when they get injuries. Allison gives a lot of positives and confidence to the Liverpool defence. So it’s a big loss for them and the Brazil national team too.

“Ederson is the same level but of course Allison is a big name. It’s not easy at the beginning of the season because players prepare a lot for a strong, solid season. He’s got to rest now and start again, so he’ll be behind the other keepers.”

One man who is likely to retain a place in the latest Selecao squad is Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus, who has started the new season with a point to prove.

The 22-year-old scored during City’s 5-0 win against West Ham before being denied the winning goal by VAR in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Tottenham last weekend.

Kleberson hopes he can play a huge role for Pep Guardiola’s squad this term, having helped Brazil lift the Copa America earlier this summer.

“Gabriel Jesus is a talented player,” he added. “He is still figuring out his place with Manchester City and has scored good goals with some brilliant performances. After his injuries, he was a bit inconsistent but it’s a new season and I am so happy for him how he did in the Copa America.

“I hope he has a great season with Manchester City. It’s not easy for him because they have great players, so he has to keep consistent.”

Liverpool resume their Premier League duties with a home clash against Arsenal on Saturday, while City take in a trip to Bournemouth on Sunday.

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The president discussed how he plans to tackle racism in the aftermath of the incident involving the Inter Milan star

Cagliari president Tommaso Giulini said “closing curvas isn’t the answer” to ending racism in Serie A after Inter star Romelu Lukaku was subjected to monkey chants last week.

Racism reared its ugly head again in Italy, where Lukaku was racially abused during Inter’s 2-1 win away to Cagliari at Sardegna Arena on Sunday.

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The incident, which came as Lukaku stepped up to convert a second-half penalty, sparked widespread condemnation of Cagliari – whose fans were also previously involved in racist chants directed at Pescara’s Sulley Muntari (2017), Juventus midfielder Blaise Matuidi (2018) and former Juve forward Moise Kean (2019).

Inter’s Curva Nord supporters claimed alleged abuse of striker Lukaku from Cagliari fans was not racist but “a form of respect”.

Amid growing calls for Italian authorities to crack down on racism and Cagliari, Giulini told Radio Popolare: “We’re trying to work in a serious way, through the awareness of our stewards who will have to report people to DIGOS [a law enforcement agency].

“It’s not easy to lipread with technology: we’ll also ask the decent fans for help, that is 99.9 per cent of Cagliari supporters.

“Fighting ignorance is difficult, so we can only raise awareness. This incident has caused huge anger and frustration in us for all the initiatives we’re carrying out. We were the first to introduce a school for young fans.

“Cagliari isn’t a racist city at all. I’m so sorry that this image of us has also gone abroad. I hope we aren’t banned. Closing curvas isn’t the answer: as I said before, stewards must be made aware.

“I won’t rule out, however, that any of my stewards saw something or a camera identified someone chanting. Once they’re recognised, these people could be denied entry if they try to re-enter the stadium.”

Former Pescara midfielder Marco Verratti – who now plays for Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain – said games must be stopped for racism.

“You have to stop games because otherwise we won’t go anywhere,” the Italy international told Rai Sport.

“I know it’s a big step to take, but we have to do it because otherwise those 4-5 stupid people will always be there.

“Lukaku’s appeal was right. It’s up to us players to show we can be role models for all ages. We carry great influence. If it starts with us, that’s a good thing.”