Racism in Italy: Premier praises life ban for soccer fan

ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte has applauded a lifetime ban for a soccer supporter who racially abused Roma defender Juan Jesus on social media.

The Brazilian — who is black — posted a screenshot of the messages on Instagram.

Roma says it has reported the account to Italian police and Instagram and that “the person responsible will be banned from #ASRoma games for life.”

Conte backed Roma’s stance on Friday, writing on Twitter that “The person who insulted Juan Jesus yesterday has no passion for sport, he should stay outside sports stadiums for life.”

One of Conte’s predecessors, Matteo Renzi, also praised the Serie A club.

Renzi retweeted the club’s post, with the comment “well done to Roma, this is the right path.”

Italian sports authorities have been criticized for their lack of punishment after three cases of discriminatory chants during the opening five rounds of the Italian league.