Kalidou Koulibaly had his say on racism and confessed he feels “French, Senegalese and Neapolitan. When I leave this city, I will certainly cry.”
The Napoli defender spoke to the Corriere dello Sport and you can read the rest of his interview here.
Kalidou Koulibaly had his say on racism and confessed he feels “French, Senegalese and Neapolitan. When I leave this city, I will certainly cry.”
The Napoli defender spoke to the Corriere dello Sport and you can read the rest of his interview here.
“I feel French and Senegalese from the moment I was born. When people asked me where I was from, I’d reply that I was French, but also Senegalese on my parents’ side. That was very important to me.
“When I arrived in Italy, after a year-and-a-half I already felt like a citizen of Naples. Because I, Kalidou Koulibaly, feel and indeed am French, Senegalese and Neapolitan.”
He opted to play his international football for Senegal and has been the subject of racist incidents, most recently from Juventus fans.
“When I arrived here, people told me that Italy was a very racist country. I wanted to experience it for myself, not listen to what other people say, and I found a world of difference.
“The doorman of my building, whose name is Ciro, told me: ‘When you arrive in Naples, you cry twice: once when you arrive and again when you leave.’
“I told him that I didn’t cry when I arrived, but if one day I were to leave, I hope as long away as possible, I will certainly cry. He was right, I am so happy here. People who speak badly of Naples don’t know what the city is like. You can’t know until you’ve really experienced it.
“I’ve had racist chants in other stadiums, but never Naples. I didn’t hear them in my first season, but they did start to irritate me in the second. I don’t accept those ‘monkey noises’ because they are not against me personally, but against my skin colour and at times the same chants are used against the people of Southern Italy.
“I give you an example. Lorenzo Insigne, who is a world class player, perhaps the best in Italy, is jeered in some stadiums because he is from the south. When he then represents Italy for the Nazionale, how do you treat him?
“I don’t understand this attitude and hope it evolves quickly. We are changing, but I think we still need to make more effort, because Italy has to move forward in this area and we’ve got to help them do it.
“Another example is the France national team has many black players who won the World Cup. For me, that is the greatest thing that can happen to help the situation.”