The president of Sampdoria, Matteo Manfrediwent to Milan to participate in a meeting in the League, taking the opportunity to denounce what happened in the match against Brescia. During the match, some home fans shouted racist rants at Ebenezer Akinsanmiroyoung Nigerian midfielder on loan from Inter. The episode occurred after Coda’s goal, which had momentarily given Sampdoria the lead (final result 1-1).
“We are deeply shocked and saddened. Sampdoria has always been a club that promotes values of respect and tolerance, and we will never accept one of our players being treated in this way”, declared the CEO firmly. Raffaele Fiorella in the League.
Fiorella then added: “Ebenezer is an exceptional boy and an impeccable professional. Seeing him suffer was painful for all of us. His absence from the field, caused by these episodes, penalized us further. It is unacceptable to hear excuses or justifications at the end of the match : this further aggravates the gravity of what happened. Everyone, including our adversaries, should strongly condemn such incidents.”
Sampdoria has announced that it will not limit itself to condemning these acts, but will implement concrete initiatives to combat racism and raise awareness in the world of football. “In the next few days we will present a targeted action plan to ensure that attention on this fundamental issue never goes away”, his words reported by the online edition of Corriere della Sera.