This archive report was first published on 2 September 2019.
Belgian international Romelu Lukaku has made a passionate plea for unity against racist abuse in football.
After being targeted with monkey chants during Inter Milan's 2-1 Serie A win over Cagliari on Sunday, Lukaku took to Instagram to express his outrage.
"Many players in the last month have suffered from racial abuse, I did yesterday," Lukaku wrote.
He called on football federations to "react strongly" and urged social media platforms to do more to prevent racist comments.
"We've been saying it for years and still no action," Lukaku said.
"It's 2019, instead of going forward we're going backwards and I think as players we need to unify and make a statement on this matter to keep this game clean and enjoyable for everyone," he added.
Lukaku's comments come after a string of high-profile incidents of racist abuse in Italian football, including the targeting of Italy striker Moise Kean and Kalidou Koulibaly.
Inter Milan's new recruit from Manchester United was responding to the abuse he suffered on Sunday, which lasted for several seconds as he prepared to take the winning penalty.
Cagliari issued a statement condemning the abuse, saying it was "totally opposite" to the club's values.
