Torino coach Ivan Juric became the latest victim of racist abuse in Serie A on Saturday after being targeted by opposition fans during his team’s 4-0 win at Spezia.
Spezia’s bid for survival was hit with Saturday’s thrashing which left it at risk of falling into the drop zone, After the match, former Croatia midfielder Juric bemoaned being called ‘gypsy’ towards the end of the first half.
The Italian word for gypsy is often used by sections of football supporters as a racial slur for players from the Balkans and eastern Europe, regardless of their ethnicity.
Dejan Stankovic was insulted in the same way by Roma fans last month, and on Saturday the abuse was such that the match was briefly stopped by referee Marco Guida.
“We had the usual insults, after a while it really becomes unpleasant. It’s not a nice thing for anyone. The referee was good and calmed things down but it’s still a bad feeling. It’s not OK, that’s for sure,” Juric told reporters.
“If that stuff happens you say ‘I won’t react, I won’t react, leave it’. That’s my idea to not cause problems but after a while it becomes really unpleasant. When the people react you have to understand because you feel really offended.”
Przemyslaw Wisniewski’s unfortunate own goal midway through the first half and fine finishes from Samuele Ricci, Ivan Ilic and Yann Karamoh in the final 20 minutes left Spezia a point above the bottom three.
Leonardo Semplici’s side will drop into the relegation zone with one game remaining if Verona beats already-safe Empoli in Sunday’s early fixture.
A straight-forward win moved Torino up to eighth and was good news for Lecce which is two points above Spezia in 16th. Lecce is at Monza on Sunday afternoon but could start its fixture behind Verona if it beats Empoli.
Later on Saturday, Roma tries to boost its dwindling hopes of Champions League football next season when it takes on Fiorentina in a battle of teams in European finals.
Jose Mourinho’s side is four points off fourth spot, held by AC Milan which is at troubled Juventus on Sunday night.
Roma faces Sevilla in the Europa League final on Wednesday and Mourinho picked a second-string side for Saturday’s clash, while Fiorentina has a week more to prepare for its Europa Conference League final with West Ham.
Inter Milan, which is in next month’s Champions League final, can secure qualification for next season’s edition of Europe’s top club competition as long as it doesn’t lose to fifth-placed Atalanta at the San Siro.
Simone Inzaghi’s side is third and five points ahead of Atalanta with two matches remaining.
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