Roma Issue Apology After Fans Racially Abuse Sampdoria's Ronaldo Vieira

AS Roma have apologised to midfielder Ronaldo Vieira after some Giallorossi supporters racially abused the Sampdoria player at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Sunday.

England international Vieira, 21, played the full 90 minutes in a 0-0 stalemate but was subject to monkey noises and racist chants from the away section.

Roma issued an apology via their official Twitter account shortly after the result:

Vieira spoke to Rai Sport (h/t Reuters) post-match and said: “I heard it but I don’t want to talk about it. This happens too often, it shouldn’t be this way.”

Roma's initiative in highlighting the incident and stressing the need for punishment is a firm step in the right direction regarding how these situations should be handled.

It was only in September that Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku (against Cagliari) and AC Milan midfielder Frank Kessie (against Verona) were each subject to racist abuse in separate matches. 

Per Reuters (h/t ESPN), a Serie A disciplinary tribunal took no action over the racist abuse in either case, via the Guardian:

Vieira joined Sampdoria from Leeds United in the summer of 2018 and has struggled to kick on as hoped in Italy, though he has been a prominent member of Claudio Ranieri's midfield this season.

The player has started in six of his seven league appearances this term, serving a one-match suspension after he was shown a straight red card in the 4-1 defeat to Sassuolo in Week 2.

Italian correspondent Paddy Agnew appeared on Off The Ball shortly after the Lukaku and Kessie incidents, explaining the difference in how these taunts are interpreted by Italians:

BBC Sport reported Roma banned one of their own supporters for life earlier in October after it was found the supporter had racially abused defender Juan Jesus on Instagram.

Roma's social media has gained a cult following in recent years and continues to set a fine example in other areas of the club.

The Athletic's Kieran Theivam addressed the notion of subjectivity when it comes to racist behaviour:

The draw at home to Roma ended a run of three consecutive defeats for Sampdoria, and Vieira will hope to remain a leading part of their midfield as they seek to move off the bottom of Serie A.