Kalidou Koulibaly has hit back at those who racially abused him in Napoli’s 1-0 defeat to Inter, saying: “I am proud of my skin colour.”
The Senegalese was subjected to monkey chants at the San Siro with Carlo Ancelotti insisting the events shamed Italian football.
Koulibaly was sent off in the match for two bookable offences, one of which seemingly came for sarcastically applauding the Inter fans for the abuse he received. The 27-year-old also apologised to his team-mates for leaving them short on the pitch, but emphasised his pride at who he is and where he comes from.
“I am sorry about the loss and above all to have left my brothers [out on the pitch],” said Koulibaly.
“However I am proud of my skin colour. To be a French, Senegalese and Neapolitan man.”
Ancelotti was left furious by the treatment his player was subjected to, and vowed to take strong action should it occur again.
“I asked the referee for information on the red cards and nothing else,” Ancelotti told Sky Sport Italia. “Those incidents rather decided the match, as we had done very well in the second half and were pushing hard.
“We even had the chance to win it when down to 10 men, but tempers were a little raised at the end. There was a strange atmosphere, as we asked three times for play to be suspended, they had announcements with the speaker three times.
“Koulibaly was certainly irritable. Usually, he is very calm and professional, but he was subjected to monkey noises throughout the game.
“We asked three times for some action to be taken, but the match continued. We keep being told play can be halted, but when? After four or five announcements? Maybe we have to take matters into our own hands next time and stop play ourselves. They’ll probably make us lose the game if we walk off, but we are prepared to do it. It’s not good for Italian football, seeing this.”
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