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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Says 'Black Friday' Headline 'Worst I've Ever Seen'
December 6, 2019
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has criticised Corriere dello Sport's cover depicting Romelu Lukaku and Chris Smalling with the headline "Black Friday."
Lukaku joined Inter Milan after leaving Old Trafford in the summer, while former United team-mate Smalling has been a success on a season-long loan so far. The two will face each other on Friday for the first time this season.
Solskjaer described his initial disbelief at the insensitive front page, per Sky Sports' Joe Shread: "First of all, when you see that paper you say: 'Wow. Really? Is that possible?' It's the worst front page I've ever seen. It has to be."
Colin Millar of Football Espana posted a screenshot of the cover:
Solskjaer added the club has reached out to support Lukaku and Smalling and said the latter is expected to return from his loan in Rome at the end of the season, per Sky Sports News:
"Of course we have been in touch with Chris, just so he knows that we'll back him and we support him. And with Romelu as well.
"I don't work in your line of business but, wow, that's incredible - and at least we don't see that here. We can see lots of different things but we don't see that, so that has to be stamped down (on)."
Racism in Italian football has been under the microscope of late. In late November, each of the 20 clubs in Serie A recently signed an open letter condemning racist abuse by fans following repeated incidents involving Lukaku, Mario Balotelli, Franck Kessie and others, per TalkSport's Jake Bacon.
La Repubblica (h/t Football Italia) also recently published transcriptions of Serie A's chief executive, Luigi De Siervo, saying he told club directors to move pitch-side microphones to avoid picking up racist chants.
Lukaku said Corriere's front page was the "dumbest of headlines," while Smalling called on the editors to take more responsibility:
Roma and AC Milan have each banned the publication from attending matches and press conferences:
Smalling's first-team prospects at United suffered a blow when the club spent £80 million to sign Leicester City centre-back Harry Maguire over the summer, a world-record fee for a defender.
However, he has looked impressive in his 13 appearances (all starts) in Rome, recently scoring and assisting in a 3-0 victory over Brescia on November 24.
Friday's duel between two of Italy's most illustrious outfits will see Inter attempt to increase their one-point lead over Juventus at the Serie A summit, while fifth-place Roma can climb as high as third with an away win.