The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and world football governing body FIFA have reacted after Cameroonian-born French defender Samuel Umtiti was the victim of racist abuse in Lecce’s 2-1 win on Lazio on Wednesday night.
Just a week after Vinicius Junior was the victim of racist abuse for the fifth time in his career at Real Madrid, Umtiti had a similar experience in Serie A. The French defender played the fulltime during the game, burst into tears at the final whistle.
“The racist chants were mastered by courage. All the ‘giallorosso’ people shouted only one name, that of Umtiti,” read a tweet from Lecce after the match, referring to the reception Umtiti received from home support.
After the match, president Saverio Sticchio Damiani explained to the media that the Yaoundé native wanted to continue playing despite the adversity:
“When the referee stopped the match, waiting for the announcer to stop the racist chants, Umtiti told him asked to take him back because he wanted to respond to the insults received on the pitch. He reacted like a true champion.”
Umtiti himself posted a message on his Instagram saying “Just football, fun, joy. The rest doesn’t count.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino also took to social media to express his support for the French defender.
“Let us cry out loud and clear: no to racism. May the vast majority of fans, who are good people, rise up to silence all racists once and for all.”
As usual, the African Football Confederation (CAF), for its part, “strongly condemns the acts of racism directed at the players of Lecce, Samuel Umtiti and Lameck Banda.”