Gabriele Gravina, president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), pardons Romelu Lukaku "exceptionally and extraordinarily". The Inter striker had been sent off for a double caution and banned for one day. In the final minutes of Juventus-Inter, the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final, after the 1-1 goal, Lukaku had rejoiced controversially in response to the chants of Juventus fans against him, which had been unleashed following a clash with Bremer.
As underlined in a statement by the same Gravina, the choice to cancel the one-day disqualification has matured "given the device of the Sports Court of Appeal with which the sanction imposed by the Sports Judge following the expulsion measure was confirmed; considering that it has emerged unequivocally from the report of the Federal Prosecutor's Office that the aforementioned player has been the subject, on several occasions, of serious, repeated and deplorable manifestations of hatred and racial discrimination such as to justify formally non-regulatory behavior and as such assessed by the match director; Considering that the principle of combating all forms of racism is one of the founding principles of the sporting system, in its international and national dimension; therefore considered, in the same way as the applicability in general to all the sanctioning cases of art. 43 of the Code of Sports Justice, that there are serious reasons to grant an exceptional and extraordinary pardon in relation to the disqualification imposed for the expulsion measure following the second admonition".
Lukaku will thus be able to take the field in the second leg scheduled for Wednesday. On Friday, the sports court of appeal had rejected Inter's appeal against the Belgian footballer's disqualification. The same court had instead upheld the appeal filed by Juventus against the obligation to play a match with the "South Stand first ring" sector of the Juventus Stadium without spectators.