Juventus have strongly condemned the alleged racist abuse directed at American midfielder Weston McKennie by visiting Lazio fans during Tuesday's Coppa Italia semifinal first leg. McKennie, who assisted in setting up Dusan Vlahovic for the second goal in Juventus' 2-0 victory, was subjected to discriminatory chants as he was substituted for Carlos Alcaraz in the 89th minute.
The club issued a statement acknowledging the video evidence circulating on social media, which captured the discriminatory chants aimed at McKennie. Juventus expressed their commitment to investigating the incident thoroughly and cooperating fully to identify those responsible for the unacceptable behavior.
In a show of solidarity, Juventus shared a black and white image of McKennie on their social media platforms with the caption 'Never again,' emphasizing their stance against racism in football.
This incident is not the first of its kind involving McKennie and Juventus players. Last November, Fiorentina received a suspended partial stadium ban following racist and discriminatory chants directed at McKennie, Vlahovic, and Moise Kean.
Reuters reached out to Lazio for their response to the allegations, but no comment has been provided at the time of reporting.
