Daniele De Rossi Alleged to Have Aimed Racist Taunt at Mario Mandzukic

Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi could find himself in trouble after it was alleged the club's vice-captain aimed a racist insult in the direction of Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic on Sunday evening.  

According to FourFourTwo, De Rossi referred to Croatia international Mandzukic as "a f--king gypsy" as the Giallorossi slipped to a 1-0 defeat in Turin. BeIN Sports presenter Matteo Bonetti cited Italian outlet Mediaset and provided details from a separate account of the incident:

It's another worrying twist in what's already been a poor season for Roma, who sit fifth in Serie A and could now face the possibility of losing their midfield leader to suspension if found guilty of racism.

Roma manager Luciano Spalletti attempted to brush off the incident in his post-match comments, per FourFourTwo:

"

De Rossi? He didn't cover his mouth [when talking to Mandzukic]. I will teach him to cover his mouth with his hand. Mandzukic had been taking the p*** out of everybody for 10 minutes and nobody told him anything.

I'm going to tell my players to do like him and to cover their mouths so you can't lip-read. De Rossi just replied to what his opponent said to him. He needs to behave better, but when you are losing you may lose your temper and forget to cover your mouth, keeping your hands close to your body instead of covering your mouth. We will teach him that.

"

The Guardian's Marcus Christenson felt Spalletti's priorities were misplaced:

Racism has been frequently raised as an issue in Serie A over the years. In May 2013, a fixture between Milan and Roma was delayed after Giallorossi fans were heard taunting Mario Balotelli with racist abuse, per the Daily Telegraph.

This incident led Massimiliano Allegri, then-manager of the Rossoneri, to condemn the mentality of some fans in Italy, describing their mindset as "backward": "People should go to the stadium to see two teams battling each other on the pitch, not this sort of thing, it's a place for the uncivilised. Above all, the culture in Italy is backward....tonight we had racism, laser beams flashed in the eyes of players and an interrupted match."

Antonio Calanni/Associated Press

One year later, another Milan player, Kevin Constant, had a banana thrown at him during a league fixture against Atalanta, just one month after Barcelona's Dani Alves fell victim to the same abuse, per Sky Sports.

De Rossi faces a wait to see if anything comes of the allegations he directed racist insults toward Mandzukic, but Roma can ill afford to lose their leader at such a crucial part of the campaign.