The mayor of Padova has apologised to Keita Baldé after the Lazio striker was the victim of racist monkey chants during a pre-season friendly on Wednesday.
Keita, who was born in Spain to parents from Senegal, began his career at Barcelona before moving to Italy in 2011. He was part of Simone Inzaghi’s side who faced Lega Pro side (third tier) Padova in a friendly on Wednesday.
But in an echo of the incident in which Kevin Prince-Boateng led his Milan teammates off the pitch during a friendly against Pro Patria in 2013, Keita was singled out for abuse by some supporters in home crowd.
The 21-year-old stayed on the pitch to help his side record a 2-1 victory and was later sent a message of support from Massimo Bitonci.
“Sport is about passion, sharing and friendship,” the mayor of Padova wrote on Facebook.
“I’m sorry to hear, as the mayor and a sportsman, that some people last night embarrassed the whole city and, in particular, the real fans at the stadium. I would like to apologise to Keita, the Lazio player, on their behalf.”
