MILAN (AFP) - Thousands of Napoli fans showed their support for Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly who was subjected to racist chanting at Inter Milan in midweek by wearing masks and holding up his picture before their team's Serie A game against Bologna on Saturday (Dec 29).
Posters with the message "Siamo Tutti Koulibaly" ("We are all Koulibaly") were visible throughout the Stadio San Paolo during the game which the hosts won 3-2.
Napoli's French-born player Koulibaly was targeted by monkey noises and racist chants at the San Siro on Wednesday, before being sent off for sarcastically applauding the referee.
Serie A returned to action three days after the violent clashes in Milan during which an Inter supporter died after being hit by a car.
And fans showed their solidarity with Koulibaly, wearing masks with the player's face, as well as t-shirts bearing his name.
The home fans also displayed a banner on front of the stadium, "We are all Koulibaly: no to racism!," with flyers in the stadium reading "Koulibaly big brother" or "We're with you Kalidou".
Among them a very young fan held up a poster with: "I'm small, but a man like Koulibaly".
Â
Â
On the pitch, Napoli's Algerian defender Faouzi Ghoulam wore Koulibaly's number 26 shirt in warm-up with the Senegalese player suspended after his sending off on Wednesday.
"It doesn't matter the colour of the skin. It doesn't matter religion. It doesn't matter what team you're rooting for. Football, like all sports, is a game. And all the games are passion, fun, freedom: And in freedom we are all alike! Tomorrow we will all be Koulibaly!," Ghoulam tweeted before the match.
European football governing body Uefa said that the correct anti-racism protocol had not been followed during the midweek game.
And Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Saturday that they would have been in favour of the match being suspended temporarily.
"There was a bit of confusion after Milan, we never asked for the suspension, but three times a temporary interruption.
"Uefa confirmed that we are right, it surprises me that the president of the referees federation disagrees.
"I hope it will never happen again or we will walk off the pitch." Ancelotti added: "50,000 people calling Koulibaly's name is quite a show, there has been a good feeling throughout the city.
"Kalidou is very popular, he has had messages from many sportsmen and it is a sign that it is not so difficult to improve things."
Football: Madrid plans 'robust' security for all-English Champions League final A police officer walking outside the Wanda Metropolitano stadium where the Champions League final will be held, on
Football: Madrid plans 'robust' security for all-English
Former European Cup winners AC Milan endured a bittersweet 3-2 win at SPAL in the last round of the Serie A, finishing the campaign outside the top four after their nearest rivals both booked
AC Milan miss out on UCL spot despite SPAL win - Football
football-explorer.com/2019/06/05/ac-milan-miss-out-on-ucl-spot-despite-spal-win/
4:46 PM ET MILAN, May 26 (Reuters) - Former European Cup winners AC Milan endured a bittersweet 3-2 win at SPAL in the last round of the Serie A, finishing the campaign outside the top four after their nearest rivals both booked their Champions League berths on Sunday.
Alexis Sanchez came back to haunt Arsenal as the Chilean opened the scoring in Manchester United's 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round win on Friday to maintain Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's 100 percent record as caretaker manager. United's winning run under the Norwegian is now eight games in all competitions and his decision to make five changes was vindicated
CARDIFF, United Kingdom (REUTERS) - Tottenham moved back into second place in the Premier League, six points behind leaders Liverpool, after cruising to a 3-0 win at lowly Cardiff City on Tuesday
Spurs back up to second after 3-0 win at Cardiff - Football
Neymar 'cried for two days' after new foot injury | Philstar.com
Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 First Leg - Liverpool v Bayern Munich - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - February 19, 2019 Liverpool's Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Fabinho in action
Solid and smart Bayern hold Liverpool at Anfield - Reuters
The post Man City end Liverpool's unbeaten run, cut lead to four appeared first on The Himalayan Times. Share Next story David Warner speaks publicly for the first time in months, but doesn't say much
Man City end Liverpool's unbeaten run, cut lead to four
Barcelona and Argentina superstar Lionel Messi has joined the calls for the search to continue for missing Cardiff City player Emiliano Sala and pilot David Ibbotson. Sala, 28, was on board a
Messi and Maradona plead for Sala search to continue
Barcelona rues missed chances in Clasico draw vs. Real Madrid. Neymar, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi all missed opportunities to make it 2-0. Madrid pushed for the equalizer in the last 10
Mutebi rues missed chance to go seven clear after Vipers draw
Feb 27 (Reuters) - Manchester City will play a pre-season match in Japan for the first time when they take on J League side Yokohama F. City Football Group (CFG) own a majority stake in City and a
Man City to play pre-season match in Japan against Marinos
Klopp plays down Liverpool fatigue concerns ahead of season run-in Soccer Football - Champions League - Liverpool Training - Melwood, Liverpool, Britain - April 16, 2019 Liverpool manager
Jurgen Klopp plays down Liverpool fatigue concerns ahead of
Klopp hails 'outstanding' Reds, turns attention to Barca
After an uncharacteristically drama-filled 2017-18 season and subsequent offseason, the San Antonio Spurs will have a slightly different look this season. After appearing in just nine games for San Antonio last season, and being absent from the team's bench in…
San Antonio Spurs | The Official Site of the San Antonio Spurs
Dijon's French midfielder Florent Balmont vies with Paris Saint-Germain's Spanish defender Juan Bernat during the French L1 football match. (JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK/AFP) Marquinhos, Kylian Mbappe, Angel Di Maria and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored PSG's goals in their first outing since their disastrous exit from the Champions League in the last
PSG win in first outing since Champions League nightmare
0 comments:
Post a Comment