McKennie: Juventus condemn discriminatory chants in official statement | OneFootball

Juventus have released a club statement condemning ‘discriminatory chants’ and the videos that have been circulating online of an incident targeted at USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie during Tuesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final first leg.

Some clips that have appeared on social media depicted discriminatory chanting aimed at McKennie by sections of the visiting Lazio supporters in the away end of the Allianz Stadium.

Juventus have confirmed that McKennie has verified his version of events and that the club have instigated all possible procedures in order to identify and punish the responsible individuals.

The incident occurred around the 89th minute of Juventus’ cup clash with Lazio, while McKennie was being substituted off after a solid shift in the centre of Max Allegri’s midfield.

Juventus had led 2-0 at the time following second half goals from Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic, and they were able to see the game out after McKennie’s substitution.

The second leg of the Juventus-Lazio Coppa Italia semi-final is due to take place at the Stadio Olimpico on April 23, kicking off at 20.00 (GMT+1).

Juventus statement in full:

A statement on the Juventus club website reads as follows:

“Juventus Football Club takes note of the video circulated on social networks and reported by some media from which it would emerge the intonation of discriminatory chants coming from the visiting sector and directed at Weston McKennie during his substitution in the Juventus-Lazio semi-final first leg of the Italian Cup, played on 2 April.

“Following confirmation of the incident by the player, the club communicates that it has activated all procedures aimed at verifying what happened and will fully cooperate in order to identify the persons responsible and, consequently, take all necessary measures in this regard.”

Juventus also accompanied the statement with a black-and-white photorgaph of McKennie on social media, along with the caption: “Never again.”