Mino Railoa, the agent of Romelu Lukaku, has joined calls for Manchester United fans to stop singing a controversial song about the Belgian striker.
Video of United supporters singing the song, which makes reference to the size of the Belgian striker’s penis, came to light after the 3-0 Champions League victory over FC Basel earlier this month. The song drew criticism from the media, with a spokesperson for anti-discriminatory group Kick It Out later describing it as ‘offensive and discriminatory’, adding that ‘racist stereotypes are never acceptable in football or wider society, irrespective of any intention to show support for a player.’
Romelu: "Great backing since I joined #MUFC. Fans have meant well with their songs but let’s move on together. #RespectEachOther"
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 21, 2017
In the time since, both United and Lukaku have asked that the supporters stop singing the chant. Despite this, some of the club’s fans were heard singing the song in the away end at Southampton on Saturday, where Lukaku scored the only goal of the game.
They followed this up by singing: “We’re Man United, we’ll sing what we want.”
A club statement following the game confirmed that United would work with police and had asked for CCTV footage to try and identify fans who had disrespected the player’s wishes.
Raiola, who also represents Lukaku’s United teammates Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, has reaffirmed his client’s stance on the song.
“He would like this song to stop,” Raiola said. “They are talking more about the song than about his football. That’s his and my quote.”
Lukaku’s goal at St Mary’s was his eight in a United shirt in as many games. He will look to add to his tally when he and his United teammates travel to Russia to face CSKA Moscow in the Champions League this week.
