Leonardo believes MilanLazio should have been suspended for racist chanting and warns authorities that his club ‘demand respect and justice’.

Franck Kessie and Tiemoue Bakayoko were racially abused by sections of Lazio support during Wednesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final at San Siro, but – not for the first time this season – the game was not stopped.

“Let’s start with two premises,” the sporting director told Gazzetta dello Sport.

Leonardo believes Milan-Lazio should have been suspended for racist chanting and warns authorities that his club ‘demand respect and justice’.

Franck Kessie and Tiemoue Bakayoko were racially abused by sections of Lazio support during Wednesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final at San Siro, but – not for the first time this season – the game was not stopped.

“Let’s start with two premises,” the sporting director told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“First: I’m not talking because we lost. Lazio won on the field and deserved to reach the Final.

“Second: after the story of Acerbi’s shirt, we intervened to resolve the case but we avoided any public statements to favour the most serene approach possible for the Coppa Italia match.

“What Kessie and Bakayoko did was a serious mistake, which we recognised immediately. But it’s the only incident that came to light in a game where there was much more: insults, provocations and brawl at the end…

“We didn’t report anything. We punished our players and condemned them publicly, but we’re committed to mending things.

“Gattuso explained at a Press conference that Bakayoko and Kessie had apologised because the club had already made their move.

“Acerbi had sent signs of peace, Bakayoko collected them. We made sure that the two players talked to each other.

“But before the Sporting Judge pronounced himself, with great timeliness and indignation, Giorgetti, undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council, and Gravina, President of the FIGC, made harsh comments on our players’ behaviour and publicly called for action. even before the competent bodies pronounced themselves…

“After the racist insults to Kessie and Bakayoko on Wednesday, I didn’t see the same responsiveness and intransigence.

“Giorgetti and Gravina, where did they go? The Deputy Prime Minister, Salvini, also got away with a very generic comment, using the word ‘disgrace’ for only Milan’s performance.

“Instead, we must use that word for much more serious incidents. We’d been guaranteed that officials would intervene in the event of racist chants.

“It wasn’t a surprising situation. Mazzoleni had already experienced InterNapoli with Koulibaly.

“We were calm. We weren’t the ones who had to ask for the suspension, also because we didn’t want it to look like an excuse for the result.

“Mazzoleni had to decide. But I think referees should be protected and helped more by the institutions, so they’re not left alone at such moments.

“We’ve issued a statement and we’ll ask for action to be taken. There are rules for intervening and fighting racism in the stadium. Just apply them.

“We’ll be more energetic next time. In the meantime, we ask for respect. Milan have 120 years of history and values.

“We can’t suffer what we suffered on Wednesday night. We accept the defeat and reject excuses, but we demand respect and justice.”

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