Italy: Corriere dello Sport newspaper sparks racism outrage over ‘Black Friday’ headline

M/S Man reading Corriere dello Sport newspaper, Florence
C/U Frontpage with Black Friday headline
SOT, Rafaele Lauria, Florence resident (Italian): “I think it is a bad taste headline. It could have been avoided. It could be nice for the game day, but with the photograph … the headline has another meaning. Surely, there was another way to talk about the meeting and the game.”
M/S Corriere dello Sport newspaper
SOT, Matteo Galattu, Florence resident (Italian): “It is not a very pretty thing. The color of the skin is evident and it [the headline] should be different. I, as an Italian citizen, don't like seeing this in an Italian newspaper, the most famous publication about sports.”
C/U Newspaper frontpage
SOT, Zolvio, Florence resident (Italian): "This is bad. We are always arguing about racism… And the newspapers, this kind of newspapers, do nothing but feed this ugly thing. Wait. I had not seen it. Black Friday ... Bullshit. Racism, unfortunately, is in our society and sports newspapers are feeding this ugly thing.”
C/U Newspaper frontpage
C/U Newspaper
C/U Newspaper
SOT, Gabriele Vitari, Florence resident (Italian): “They [the newspaper] wanted to make this joke. Exaggerated. That is not funny and it shows racist superficiality”.
C/U Newspaper
C/U Newspaper
SOT, Francesco Ricci, Florence resident (Italian): “It is simply the frontpage. I don't think there are references to racism. There are Lukaku and Smalling..."
M/S Customers
SCRIPT
National sports newspaper Corriere dello Sport provoked public ire by running images of Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku and Rome defender Chris Smalling alongside the headline ‘Black Friday’, as shown in footage filmed in Florence on Thursday.
The former Manchester United teammates are set to meet each other again on Friday evening when Inter and Roma play in Milan.
Both clubs were quick to condemn the headline via their official Twitter feeds, with Inter writing: “Football is passion, culture and brotherhood. We are and always will be opposed to any form of discrimination.”
Passers-by in Florence were scathing in their response.
“They [the newspaper] wanted to make this joke. Exaggerated. That is not funny and it shows racist superficiality,” said Gabriele Vitari, a Florence resident.
"Racism, unfortunately, is in our society and sports newspapers are feeding this ugly thing,” said Zolvio, another passer-by.
Racism in Italian football has come under more scrutiny in recent months following a series of incidents involving fans and players.
Lukaku himself was the victim of monkey chants by Cagliari supporters while Italy striker Mario Balotelli was also racially abused while playing against Verona.