Juventus have received a one-match partial ban after fans racially abused Inter striker Romelu Lukaku.
Lukaku was targeted by opposing supporters before and after scoring a penalty five minutes into stoppage time to give Inter a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final on Tuesday.
The Belgian international received a second yellow card for putting his fingers to his lips to silence the crowd at the Allianz Stadium.
On Thursday, Serie A announced that Juventus must close the lower tier of the South Stand for their next league home game on April 23 against Napoli.
The judge who heard the case stated that “the majority of the 5,034” spectators in that stand were guilty of racist slurs against Lukaku.
Lukaku will still face a one-match ban in the second leg against Juventus on 26 April for his sending off, which sparked a massive close-to-regular hand-to-hand fight.
Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanović and Juventus midfielder Juan Cuadrado have been sacked for their involvement in the brawl and will be suspended for one and three games respectively.
Penalty Pro
18 out of 18 were repainted in Nerazzurri colors. #ForzaInter #JuventusInter #CoppaItaliaFrecciarossa pic.twitter.com/uy9XtFmsOW
— Inter (@Inter_en) April 4, 2023
Lukaku, who is on loan at the San Siro from Chelsea, has been subjected to repeated racism in Italy and called for more serious action this week.
“History repeats itself. (I) went through this in 2019 and (now) again in 2023,” he wrote on his official social media.
“I hope that this time the league will really take real action because this beautiful game should please everyone.
Thanks for the messages of support. Fuck racism.”
Juventus intends to work closely with the authorities to identify the guilty fans and impose bans.