Audio By Carbonatix
Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku says the 'Black Friday' headline used by Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport is "one of the dumbest" he has seen, while Roma's Chris Smalling condemned it as "wrong and insensitive".
The headline accompanied pictures of Lukaku and Smalling prior to Friday's match between their two sides.
"You guys keep fuelling the negativity and the racism issue," Lukaku said.
Smalling urged the newspaper's editors to "understand the power they possess".
Roma, along with Inter's rivals AC Milan, announced later on Thursday they will not work with Corriere dello Sport until January.
A joint statement released at the same time by Roma and AC Milan said: "We have decided to ban Corriere dello Sport from our training facilities for the rest of the year and our players will not carry out any media activities with the newspaper during this period.
"Both clubs are aware the actual newspaper article associated with the 'Black Friday' headline did portray an anti-racist message and for this reason we have only banned Corriere dello Sport until January.
"We remain totally committed to tackling racism."
Corriere dello Sport defended the "innocent" headline in a comment piece on its website.
"It was only a way to celebrate diversity," the newspaper said.
Earlier on Thursday, Roma's chief operating officer Francesco Calvo said he did not think the headline was a "clear case" of racism, but called on people in positions of authority - including clubs, players and media - to be more careful with the language they choose.
"This isn't like the racism we've experienced many others in Italy in the recent period, this is superficial and unfortunate of people not understanding of how messages can be mixed up in words and perceived in a bad way," Calvo told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"All of us who work in football have a bigger responsibility, which is giving the right message to people, being a role model and trying to educate people.
"This is what everyone should do, including this newspaper. We should be very careful with the words we use.
"This only allows people to talk about racism in Italy instead of giving a message against racism because people will only read the headline and not the article."
All 20 Serie A clubs made a united pledge last week to combat Italian football's "serious problem" with racism because there is no more "time to waste".
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
GPL 2025/26: Antwi delivers as Dreams edge Aduana to boost survival push
4 minutes -
Black Queens to continue Pink Ladies Cup participation
17 minutes -
Mergers and acquisitions are surging amidst market exuberance on the exit trail
24 minutes -
Bekwai court jails 30-Year-old for 25 years over mining site robbery
30 minutes -
MultiPro Ghana pays courtesy call to Chief Imam, reinforcing its commitment to faith and community
35 minutes -
Zenith Bank rolls out maiden SME Business Empowerment Lab to support growth of Ghanaian enterprises
43 minutes -
GPL 2025/26: Abaidoo strikes late to earn Chelsea a point against Young Apostles
49 minutes -
Mid-March hearing expected after Ofori-Atta bond case stalls
1 hour -
Legend of the week – Daddy Lumba
1 hour -
No hearing took place on February 19 — Ofori-Atta’s lawyers clarify
1 hour -
GPL 2025/26: Hohoe United defeat Samartex to move closer to safety
1 hour -
GPL 2025/26: Asante Kotoko held by 10-man Vision FC
1 hour -
Today’s Front pages: Monday, March 2, 2026
2 hours -
Africa’s Energy sovereignty is being tested in the Strait of Hormuz
2 hours -
TikToker “Duabo King” arrested for spreading false claims about Kumasi police officers
2 hours
