Football-FIFA’s Infantino shows support for Umtiti and Banda after racist abuse

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Adds statements from Lazio and Barcelona

Jan 5 (Reuters) – FIFA President Gianni Infantino has called on fans to “shut up all racists” after Lecce defender Samuel Umtiti and team-mate Lameck Banda were racially slurred during their home game against Lazio on Wednesday.

The match was halted for several minutes while an announcement from the stadium was made calling for the chants to stop.

Infantino showed his support for Umtiti and Zambian Banda in a social media post.

“Solidarity with Samuel Umtiti and Lameck Banda – let’s shout it loud and clear: No to racism”, he wrote in the caption of the photos of Umtiti and Banda.

“May the vast majority of fans, who are good people, rise up to silence all racists once and for all.”

Home fans chanted Umtiti’s name to quell the abuse and Lecce president Saverio Sticchi Damiani said the France World Cup winner, on loan from Barcelona, ​​had asked for the game to be restarted.

Lecce came from behind to win the Serie A game 2-1, with France’s Umtiti leaving the pitch in tears.

“The racial slurs were drowned out by choruses of encouragement towards our champion,” Lecce said in a statement.

Umtiti posted a message on Instagram saying, “Only football, fun, joy. The rest doesn’t matter.”

Lazio said in a statement on Thursday: “During the Lecce-Lazio match, the referee was forced to interrupt the match due to racist chanting towards a player from the home team.

“The SS Lazio once again condemns the perpetrators of this despicable, shameful and anachronistic gesture and will, as always, offer its utmost cooperation to the authorities in identifying those responsible.

“Lazio fans are not racist and cannot be associated with a few individuals who seriously damage the image of the club.”

Umtiti’s parent club Barcelona also issued a statement of support for the French defender on Thursday, saying he “remains firm in his total opposition to all forms of violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance”.

A section of Lazio fans had previously been punished by European football’s governing body UEFA for fascist salutes and racist chants, including after a Europa League game against French side Rennes in October 2019 .

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Aadi Nair; Editing by Peter Rutherford and Ken Ferris)

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