Ronaldo Vieira

Racist chants aimed at Sampdoria midfielder Vieira

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:31 p.m. ET

ROME (AP) — Sampdoria midfielder Ronaldo Vieira was subjected to racist chants by Roma fans during a Serie A soccer match on Sunday — the latest incident involving offensive behavior inside Italian stadiums this season.

Referee Fabio Maresca heard the chants near the end of the first half of the game at Sampdoria's Luigi Ferraris stadium and let Vieira know about it.

The referee and Vieira walked off the field together at the interval but no announcement was made inside the stadium.

"Football has a responsibility to punish and educate the idiots in the stadium today," Vieira said on Instagram .

Offensive chants have also been aimed at Romelu Lukaku, Franck Kessie, Dalbert Henrique and Miralem Pjanic in Serie A this season.

Vieira, who was born in Guinea Bissau and is black, plays for England's Under-21 squad.

"AS Roma would like to apologise to Ronaldo Vieira for the racist boos he was subjected to," Roma tweeted. "Roma does not tolerate racism of any kind and the club will support the authorities in identifying and subsequently banning any individuals found guilty of racially abusing the midfielder."

The match ended 0-0.

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