Chris Smalling and Romelu Lukaku have condemned Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport for their "highly insensitive" 'Black Friday' front page on Thursday.
England international Smalling, on a season-long loan from Manchester United, is set to face former United team-mate Lukaku on Friday as Inter host Roma at the San Siro.
But in the latest racism incident to hit Italian football, newspaper Corriere dello Sport ran a headline titled 'Black Friday' on their front page, sparking outrage amongst clubs and anti-discrimination organisations.
Smalling, 27, responded to the post on Twitter after it was circulated around social media calling on the newspaper editors to "take responsibility" for the shocking page.
"Whilst I would have liked to spend the day focusing on the big game tomorrow, it is important that I acknowledge that what occurred this morning was wrong and highly insensitive," Smalling's post read.
"I hope the editors involved in running this headline take responsibility and understand the power they possess through words, and the impact those words can have.
"A big shout out to AS Roma for the support! Now let the battle commence Rom, daje Roma!"
Lukaku later joined Smalling in attacking the newspaper, claiming it was "the dumbest of headlines I have ever seen in my career."
The front page has received widespread criticism amongst Serie A teams, including Smalling's own club Roma and AC Milan.
The anti-discrimination Fare network tweeted a picture of the front page along with the message: "The media fuels racism every day."
Corriere dello Sport's editor-in-chief Ivan Zazzaroni later defended their decision, insisting an "innocent title" had been "transformed into poison", according to Football Italia.
