AC Milan have officially announced the establishment of an anti-racism task force to help celebrate their 120th anniversary.
Racism has sadly once again made the headlines in Italian football recently, with incident surrounding Inter’s Romelu Lukaku and Milan’s Franck Kessie in particular.
Calgiari fans used monkey chants to try and distract Lukaku from his penalty against them before the international break, while Hellas Verona fans also showered Kessie with racial abuse last weekend.
As stated on MilanNews.it, the Sporting Judge did not even mention any incident regarding Verona’s fans during the game against Milan, meaning there will be no investigation or punishment.
The Judge also handed out a fine to Cagliari fans for the throwing of bottles, but nothing for the sickening chants.
Now, the Rossoneri have responded in a typically classy way by setting up an anti-racism task force, as confirmed on the official website.
LATEST PODCAST: Episode 66 – Big Derby Preview with special guest
It will work on two fronts; helping ‘develop a programme of activities to increase awareness, monitor and address racist behaviour on social media and in the stadium, and drive the adoption of global best practices on diversity and inclusion’.
It will be launched before the derby on Sunday ‘in order to demonstrate solidarity with some of the most high-profile targets of the negative behaviour’.
The match will be branded as the “Derby Against Racism” and the teams will take a photograph together before the game to mark it.
Milan’s CEO Ivan Gazidis comments: “Italian football needs to wake up and take a strong stance against racist behaviours.
“AC Milan will take a leadership position on this issue, promoting basic human values that are relevant to us all. Football provides a powerful example of the strength of unity and teamwork.
“Diversity, inclusion and tolerance enhance the strength of the team, the club and of society as a whole. We believe that we have a moral obligation to do everything we can to address this issue.
“This first significant step aims to visibly demonstrate that we will be proactive in our efforts to tackle racism in football.
“These values transcend football rivalries and we are delighted to have the support of FC Inter for this initiative”.
Paolo Scaroni, AC Milan’s President, added: “I am pleased that AC Milan is taking action to address one of the most important issues in our game and our society.
“This club has a powerful voice and I believe we can play an important role in the fight against racism.”
LATEST PODCAST: Episode 66 – Big Derby Preview with special guest
