After making his Italy debut over the international break, Destiny Udogie has been the victim of racist abuse on Facebook. Now, the mayor of Nogara, where Udogie is from, has hit out at those who have posted the abusive messages.
Since finally arriving in North London this summer, Destiny Udogie has been a revelation in the revived Spurs squad under Ange Postecoglou.
The 20-year-old has flourished in the left-back role, adapting slightly from the left wing-back role he played with Udinese. Udogie has been defending solidly, but it is in attacking areas that he has been most impressive, and he already has two assists to his name this season (Transfermarkt).
It was no surprise then, that Udogie was handed his first call-up to the Italy senior squad for the current international break. Luciano Spalletti gave Udogie his debut in the recent win over Malta on Saturday, with a brief, ten-minute substitute appearance.
Udogie was given a starting place for the game against England on Tuesday evening, and despite the result there, will presumably be delighted to have his first Italy caps under his belt.
(Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)
Mayor condemns racist abuse of Destiny Udogie
However, the experience may have been tarnished somewhat by the fact that a Facebook post celebrating Udogie’s breakthrough for Italy has been hit by racist trolls. The Municipality of Nogara, Udogie’s birthplace, shared the post but a slew of highly offensive comments were added to the comments section.
The mayor of Nogara, Flavio Pasini, has spoken to CalcioMercato on the matter: “Let me be clear: we clearly distance ourselves from any sentence against the colour of Destiny’s skin.
“Udogie is from Nogara and it is inadmissible to read certain things against a boy who was born and raised in my country and who has realised his dream of making his debut with the blue jersey of Italy.
“I tried to find out who it was who wrote certain phrases and I noticed that those insulting him are not people from Nogara but people who have flocked to our Facebook page to rage for no reason against a good boy, one of ours, of whom we are proud.”
Spurs Web Opinion
It is utterly disgusting that anyone would take the time to post nasty comments about a 20-year-old boy who has just achieved his dream of representing his country in the sport he loves. It’s truly pathetic, and this kind of thing has to stop.
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