Racists target Romelu Lukaku on social media after Champions League final

Romelu Lukaku has been the victim of hideous abuse (Picture: Getty Images)

Romelu Lukaku was the victim of horrendous racist abuse online after the Champions League final in Istanbul on Saturday night.

The Inter Milan striker came on in the second half as his side were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City in Turkey, with Rodri scoring the only goal of the game.

The on-loan Chelsea striker had a cameo to forget, getting in the way of a header from teammate Federico Dimarco in front of goal, then getting a great chance with his head himself and firing straight at Ederson from point blank range.

Regardless of what happened on the pitch, though, the hideous racist abuse that was sent his way on Instagram is completely unacceptable, with abysmal comments pouring in on his most recent post.

Depressingly, Lukaku had addressed racist abuse as recently as April when he was subjected to it during an Inter clash with Juventus in the Coppa Italia.

He wrote on Instagram: ‘History repeats … Been through it in 2019 … and 2023 again. I hope the league really take actions for real this time because this beautiful game should be enjoyed by everyone …’

While many commenters spoke out against the racist comments on Saturday night, there were a number of shocking posts, including the ones below.

Lukaku spoke to The Mirror about the ongoing problem in football and said things need to change at the top of clubs, countries and the game, as it has done at Belgium.

‘I think you need more diversity in positions of power, at the top,’ he said. ‘That’s where you need to start, that’s where we need to have diversity. People of colour, put them in the top of every boardroom. And that’s when the change will start.

‘That’s why, for example, in our Belgian federation, that’s where they started, they’re trying to put in people of colour, different sexualities and stuff like that.

‘So that every situation that can happen, whether it is racial or any other form or type of discrimination, can be attacked straight away. If you put people of different colour in positions of power, I think things would get taken care of much faster than now.’

Abysmal comments on Instagram after the match in Istanbul.