Roc Nation, an entertainment agency run by rapper and record producer Jay-Z, took out a full-page ad in La Grazetta Sport, an Italian publication, to criticize local fans for making monkey noises to criticize Inter Milan player Romelu Lukaku. Lukaku, a Belgian of Congolese descent, is a Roc Nation client and was the first Premier League player to sign with the agency in 2018.

The incident which incited the ad occurred Tuesday during a game between Inter Milan and Juventus, when Lukaku scored a game-tying goal in stoppage time to force a draw in the Italian Cup semifinal. Fans in attendance made monkey noises following the goal.

“In professional football, Black players have been subjected to hatred during professional football games,” the ad stated. “The hated has displayed itself in the form of monkey chants, racial slurs and banana peels tossed at the best players in the world, as the world watches, as the children watch, as the players’ families watch.”

The most recent incident in European soccer follows a long string of racist attacks on players in the sport’s history. In 2020, three black players on England’s national team received racist abuse online for making errors in the final of the European Championship.

This is not the first time that Lukaku has endured racially charged abuse, as Italian fans have used similar monkey chants throughout his career, notably in a 2019 incident, which received similar condemnation from league officials.

“History repeats. Been through it in 2019 … and 2023 again … I hope the league really take actions for real this time because this beautiful game should be enjoyed by everyone,” Lukaku said on Instagram.

Roc Nation’s ad was an attempt by the agency to speak directly to fans in defense of its client, who has played for Inter Milan in two stints since 2019.

“In a game that unites people all over the world as fans, we should only witness the best of humanity,” the ad read. “There is no circumstances where racism is tolerated. Italy is better than this. We are all better than this.”

Just hours after the English Premier League announced that it will resume its season on June 17, the top soccer league in Italy, Serie A, announced that they will be resuming their season starting June 20. 

This comes following an agreement was reached between the league and the Italian government. While speaking to reporters, Italian Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora said that the timing is simply right. “Italy is starting up again and it’s only right that football can also get going. In the light of this we can say that the championship can start again on June 20,” he said.

Spadafora added that the league had their health measures approved by the Italian government, as well as their backup plan if the season is stopped once again. One of the biggest concerns of the return of Serie A was testing and according to Spadafora, it “should not affect the general needs of all Italian citizens.”

Juventes was at the top of the league’s standings prior to the season’s stoppage with a narrow lead of Lazio. It is unclear if teams will play the remaining 13 or so games in their respective schedules, or if there will be some form of modified schedule.

With fears growing more and more around the Coronavirus, Serie A have called off five games this weekend. A number of sporting events in the north of Italy have been cancelled over the past couple of weeks due to the virus.

The games cancelled were Juventus vs. Inter Milan, Udinese vs. Fiorentina, Milan vs. Genoa, Parma vs. SPAL and Sassuolo vs. Brescia.

Serie A said in a statement that the decision came after “considering the succession of numerous urgent regulatory interventions by the Government to respond to this extraordinary emergency to protect public health and safety.”

Four matches were cancelled last weekend and players and club officials from a few teams have tested positive for the virus.

“The emergency due to the cases of coronavirus in Italy has forced the government and other authorities to make unpopular but necessary decisions,” Italy’s sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora said. “Decisions that have to be formed around and updated by the developments of the data and by advice from the scientific community, making citizens’ health the priority and trying as much as possible, to limit the consequences for all citizens.”

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Other European countries have been forced to cancel games, as Switzerland was forced to postpone after a federal order was put in place banning events involving more than 1,000 people until mid-March.