Manchester United have been asked by anti-discrimination group Kick It Out to stop supporters from singing a “racist” chant about Romelu Lukaku.
Kick It Out have described the chant’s lyrics, which refer to the size of the Belgian striker’s penis, as being “offensive and discriminatory”.
The chant came to many people’s attention courtesy of a video recorded at Old Trafford during United’s Champions League meeting with FC Basel last week. Posted on the Twitter page MUFC Songs & Chants, it was widely shared across social media in the hours which followed the game. At the time of writing, it remains the pinned tweet on the MUFC Songs & Chants account.
Many have criticised the chant and some of the accounts that have circulated the video of it. It also received condemnation in an article from Scott Patterson which has since received thousands of views.
The MUFC Songs & Chants Twitter page has now posted a statement in response to the criticism, denying claims that the chant is racist.
‘The chant is not a negative chant, it’s a stereotype, it doesn’t mean it’s racist,’ it reads, going on to point out a number of other chants sung by United fans that haven’t drawn criticism for being racist.
The full statement, which ends by insisting that those behind the chant are not racist, can be viewed in full below.
https://twitter.com/MufcSongs/status/910169554990637056
As reported by the BBC, United are to liaise with Kick It Out on the matter.
