Milan, March 16 (BNA): Hellas Verona team received orders to play its next match at home and empty its stands, after racist chants and anti-land insults during a match against Napoli.
The chants directed at Napoli players Kalidou Koulibaly and Victor Osimhen – who are both black – came during the 2-1 loss to Verona on Sunday. The Associated Press reported that Osimhen scored two goals in the match.
The night before the match, Verona fans raised a banner near the Bentegodi stadium with the GPS coordinates of Naples and the Russian and Ukrainian flags on it – an apparent suggestion to bomb the southern city.
The banner was signed by ‘Curva Sud’ – the end of the stadium where die-hard ‘Ultra’ fans in Verona sit – which has now been suspended due to a match.
Verona fans have been implicated in several racist incidents and the Serie A judge said on Tuesday that the latest offense did not warrant leniency due to the “seriousness of the facts”.
The partial stadium ban will go into effect for the Verona-Genoa match on 3 April. Verona plays in Empoli this weekend.