An Italian TV pundit has been widely condemned and banned from channel TopCalcio24 after a racially-tinged comment about current Inter Milan and former Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku.

Luciano Passirani, a guest commentator on the show, said of the striker: 'If they go one-on-one with you you're dead, you fall to the ground. You're alright if you have ten bananas to give him to eat, otherwise...'.

The director of the station, Fabio Ravezzani, went on air almost immediately after the comments were made and apologised before clarifying that Passirani would not be allowed on the network ever again.

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Italian TV pundit Luciano Passirani has been widely condemned and banned from channel TopCalcio24 after a racially-tinged comment about Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku

Striker Lukaku suffered racist abuse at the hands of Cagliari fans earlier this month

Lukaku has been at the centre of a number of racist incidents since he decided to swap Manchester United for Milan in the summer.

He scored the winning penalty in a 2-1 victory at Cagliari on September 1. As he stepped up to take the spot-kick, some Cagliari fans could be heard making monkey noises at him from behind the goal.

And now Passirani has added to the storm with his latest comments.

While appearing on the show, he said: 'I don't see in the Italian league a player like Lukaku in any team, not in AC Milan, Inter, Rome, Lazio.

'He's one of the strongest and I like him a lot because he's one of the strongest, he's at least twice as strong as (Duvan) Zapata from Atalanta.

He was hit with monkey chants when taking a penalty against Cagliari in early September

'These players have something more than the others, these are the guys who make the goals and drag the team.

'If they go one-on-one with you you're dead, you fall to the ground. You're alright if you have ten bananas to give him to eat, otherwise...'

Passirani did apologise on air afterwards but it still led to widespread condemnation from those who watched.

Ravezzani added in a later tweet: 'Only a part of the transmission was spread widely, cutting off the guest's subsequent apology that he had a moment of unpredictable confusion while trying to make a joke.

Italian pundit Luciano Passirani praises @RomeluLukaku9 saying he’s never seen a player of his quality at neither #Inter, #Milan or #Juventus before ending it with “only way to push him down to the floor is to throw 10 bananas at him.”pic.twitter.com/Nv8t8yF9aA — Nima Tavallaey Roodsari (@NimaTavRood) September 15, 2019

'But the gravity of the comment remains and requires equally serious measures.'

Lukaku recently commented on how football can combat racism from fans. Asked about whether players should walk off, he said: 'Yes, I think you have to leave a statement, of course, because it's something we need to address.'

He said that there had also been issues in England recently, adding: 'Football is international, football is multicultural, so if you really want to field the best players in the world, you have to make sure you receive them with open arms because they'e also willing to adapt to the culture.

'I think it's really important not to discriminate and just appreciate the presence they bring into the country.'