Portuguese international Rafael Lean said on Tuesday he had been the target of racist abuse on social media, in yet another case of the type of crime that has plagued the Italian league.
“Unfortunately, there are still people in the world with limited intelligence…” he wrote in Portuguese in an Instagram story in which he condemned the attack phrase.
Rafael Lean showed a message in Italian from an evasive fan: “I can’t see you on the field anymore. I’m becoming racist and you’re annoying me. Leave as quickly as possible. You and whoever is following you.”
The 24-year-old became the latest victim of racism in Italian football, exactly a month after he walked off the pitch with his AC Milan colleagues after French goalkeeper Mike Maignan was harassed by fans during a visit to Udinese “
In this case, the fans were identified and the club banned them.
Milan expressed solidarity with Leao, promising to be by his side and reminding him that “there is no place for racism in football.”
Belgian Romelu Lukaku, Mario Balotelli and Ghanaian Kevin-Prince Boateng have been among the casualties in recent years in transalpine football, which has been marked by the number of incidents of racism among Europe’s major leagues.