Jay-Z's Roc Nation pays for full-page ad to call on Italy to condemn racism

Jay-Z's Roc Nation has told Italy 'enough is enough' as they took action after Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku was subjected to monkey noises in a soccer match.

The striker was racially abused after scoring a penalty against Juventus on Tuesday and the 29-year-old is a client of the music star's agency.

Roc Nation paid for a full-page advert in Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, as first reported by TMZ, to insist 'enough is enough.'

'Dear Italy, Do better. Want better. Be better,' the message began.

'In professional [soccer], black players have been subjected to hatred during professional [soccer] games. The hatred has displayed itself in the form of monkey chants, racial slurs and banana peels tossed at the best players in the world, as the world watches, as the children watch, as the players' families watch.

'No one has faced any consequences for this heinous behavior. Nothing has changed. No action has been taken.'

Lukaku was subjected to monkey chants from a section of Juventus supporters behind the goal where he converted a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time to earn Inter a 1-1 draw in their Coppa Italia semi-final first leg this week.

Video footage showed the fans chanting 'f***ing monkey' and 'f*** off' at Lukaku, who was shown a second yellow card and sent off for shushing and saluting them during his celebrations.

Roc Nation insisted it was a normal part of his celebration.

'In fact, the only person that could be held accountable is a player, if they react to this disgusting behavior during a game,' the agency's statement continued.

'Enough is enough.

'Hatred equals racism equals ignorance.'

Lukaku has also called on Italy's soccer authorities to clamp down hard on those Juve fans who racially abused him with vile monkey chants.

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, Lukaku wrote: '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.

'Thank you for the supportive messages. F*** racism.'

The Roc Nation message continued: 'In a game that unites people all over the world as fans, we should only witness the best of humanity.

'There is no circumstance where racism is tolerated. Italy is better than this. We are all better than this.

'We call on the worldwide community of sports - players, team owners, artists, brands and all fans - to denounce this racist behavior and hold bigots accountable to a human standard. One which upholds decency, respect and compassion for others.

'The first team is the human team. Let's work together to cut racism out of the game, for good.

'Sincerely, Roc Nation.'

Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr., Reece James and Thibaut Courtois were among Lukaku's peers who posted supportive comments on the striker's post.

Inter condemned the abuse in a statement on their website on Wednesday, while Juventus have promised to ban those found guilty.

Lukaku, who is on loan at Inter from Chelsea, suffered racist abuse during his first spell with the Italian club between 2019 and 2021.

In September 2019, he said the game was 'going backwards' when Cagliari fans abused him with monkey chants when he scored Inter's winning goal.

Back then, Lukaku called on soccer's authorities and social media companies to take a stronger stand against racial discrimination.

In September 2021, Lukaku said racism in the sport was at an 'all-time high' and again urged authorities to take a stand.

And in January this year, Serie A opened an investigation into allegations of racist abuse towards Lukaku by Napoli fans.

Roc Nation president Michael Yormack released a statement prior to the advert, he said on Tuesday: 'Tonight's racist remarks made towards Romelu Lukaku by Juventus fans in Turin were beyond despicable and cannot be accepted.

'Romelu scored a penalty late in the game. Before, during, and after the penalty, he was subjected to hostile and disgusting racist abuse.

'Romelu celebrated in the same manner he has previously celebrated goals. The referee's response was to award a yellow card to Romelu.

'Romelu deserves an apology from Juventus, and I expect the League to condemn the behaviour of this group of Juventus supporters immediately.

'The Italian authorities must use this opportunity to tackle racism, rather than punish the victim of the abuse.

'I am certain that the footballing world shares the same sentiment.'