Muntari: 'Racist insults from kids'

By Football Italia staff

Sulley Muntari and Pescara Coach Zdenek Zeman reveal the midfielder was being racially abused by children in Cagliari.

The Ghanaian midfielder became agitated and tried to urge the referee to halt play when he heard insults coming from the stands at the Stadio Sant’Elia.

When the referee not only continued, but then booked Muntari for dissent, the former Milan man was furious and stormed off. He was then substituted.

“They were chanting against me from the start, then in the first half I saw in the group there were some children and the parents said nothing,” Muntari explained to Sky Sport Italia.

“So I turned to the parents and gave them my jersey, to set the example. In the Curva, the issue continued with another group of fans.

“I was trying to reason with them, but the referee told me to leave them alone. That’s when I got angry. Because rather than stop the game, he decided to punish me?

“The fans were wrong, but the referee had to act differently, not accuse me of causing trouble. I am the victim here. If the officials begin actually stopping games when this happens, I am convinced it won’t happen again.”

Pescara Coach Zeman also commented on the incident in their 1-0 defeat to Cagliari.

“Muntari heard racist chants and asked the referee to intervene. There is so much talk about what we should do, but then we do nothing and shrug it off.

“Muntari left us down to 10 men, he left of his own volition when we could’ve still had our say in the final minutes. The Cagliari fans constantly hurled racist chants at him and he asked the referee to intervene.

“Sulley therefore decided to leave in protest.”

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