Racism in Florence: Koulibaly reacts to insults

Nth case of racism in Serie A. Kalidou Koulibaly, after his Napoli victory against Fiorentina, received several racist insults along with his teammates Anguissa and Osimhen. As reported by DAZN, The Senegalese first responded by saying 'go on, go on', and then he faced one of the fans. “Did you call me 'ape'?”, said the defender, “then come here to tell me to my face.” The Napoli press officer had to grab him to prevent the player from getting any closer to the local fans, who continued to insult him with the same hateful racist boos.

The news could have consequences for the 'tifosi' de la Fiore, who also sang discriminatory chants against the Neapolitans (“Vesuvius wash them with fire”): the Prosecutor's Office of the Italian Football Federation questioned the 'azzurro' defender. It is not the first time that something similar has happened in the Franchi stadium and, for that reason, the day before, President Rocco Commisso had asked the fans to “behave well”, avoiding this type of chant. They ignored him and, in the end, CEO Joe Barone had to apologize to Koulibaly, reiterating that, for the club, “this is all unacceptable.” Fiorentina also released this statement: “The club firmly distances itself from the chants and offenses coming from the stands after the game with Naples.”