A furious Carlo Ancelotti declared that his Napoli side will walk off should they encounter racism again, after Kalidou Koulibaly was subjected to abuse from the crowd during their 1-0 defeat to Inter.
The Senegalese defender was dismissed for dissent before Lautaro Martinez scored the only goal of the game in stoppage time, but Ancelotti declared that the match was overshadowed by abuse towards his centre-back, which was not taken seriously by officials.
A loudspeaker announcement was made to plead with Inter fans not to continue with their chanting, but Ancelotti insisted that the action he and his team attempted to take to combat the racism was largely disregarded.
“I am not angry with Koulibaly’s red card, more than anything I am disappointed,” the former AC Milan and Chelsea coach declared in his post match press conference at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
“We asked the officials to intervene and suspend the game three or four times, but only announcements were made and little else. He [Koulibaly] was not in the right frame of mind and we had to intervene.
“I do not say that a game must stopped completely, but rather suspended for half an hour or so. Italy is the most beautiful country in the world and we have to end this, as so many of us are respectful of others.
“If our calls are ignored, we may have to take matters into our own hands and walk off, even if it means we forfeit the match.”