As Cagliari fans hurled racist slurs at Sulley Muntari, the Pescara midfielder looked to the referee for help. But instead of stopping the Serie A match, the referee banned Muntari for one game.

Now, some players are calling for a strike until Muntari’s suspension is withdrawn. Calling Italy’s football chiefs “gutless” for their inaction, anti-discrimination group Kick It Out said “this situation should never be allowed to happen again.”

It’s up to us to pressure Serie A to take racism on the pitch seriously. That’s why we’re coming together to ask Serie A sponsor Telecom Italia and its parent company Vivendi to stand with Muntari and call on the league to withdraw his suspension.

Urge Vivendi to leverage its influence as a Serie A sponsor to demand the league reinstate Muntari and address fans’ racism with a strong antiracist policy.

Muntari, a  former Ghana international midfielder, was dismayed by the official response. “What am I supposed to do? Stand there and let it go? That sets a bad culture. We need this to stop.”

This isn’t the first time players have had to confront racism on the pitch. In 2013, Milan’s Kevin-Prince Boateng sparked a walk-off in response to “unspeakable” racist harassment from fans. And Muntari’s punishment for standing up to racism is proof that football won’t be free of racism until the league takes decisive antiracist action.   

Now, players are coming together to support Muntari. Ex-Tottenham striker Garth Crooks issued a statement “calling on players in Italy, black and white, to make it absolutely clear to the federation in Italy that their position is unacceptable.” We need to have players’ backs and rally our voices to ask corporate sponsors like Vivendi to ensure the league does right by Muntari and all players impacted by racism on the pitch.  

Call on Serie A sponsor Vivendi to push the league to stop racism on the pitch by adopting a strong antiracist policy.