© AFP
Romelu Lukaku also won prizes at the gala of the Ebbenhouten Schoen on Monday. The all-time top scorer of the Red Devils was awarded the Order of Merit for his social actions. The Ebony Shoe itself went to Mike Trésor.
Maxime CaeymanBron: BELGIAN
The organization of the ‘African Awards’, vzw Friendly Foot, rewarded Lukaku for his actions against racism and discrimination in the football stadiums. “He made the football community aware of the problem,” it sounded. “And he’s been doing it for years, ever since he was a young professional player. Hateful behavior has no place in a football stadium.”
Lukaku had to deal with racism in Italy at the end of last month. In the cup match at Juventus, he had to listen to racist chants and jungle sounds. He then scored from the spot, on which he put his finger to his mouth. The referee gave Lukaku a second yellow card for this and he had to leave the field. Originally a competition suspension would follow, but the Italian federation eventually withdrew his suspension after much protest. Lukaku was very pleased with it. “This sends a strong signal to the entire sporting world, and even beyond. This shows that there is a will to fight against racism,” he noted.
Lukaku was not present at the award ceremony on Monday. Pierre Kompany, the father of Burnley coach Vincent Kompany, received the trophy for Lukaku. The events in Spain last weekend, in which Real Madrid player Vinicius Junior was racially abused for an entire match against Valencia, show that racism has not yet disappeared from the football stadiums.
