Black Stars goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi was a victim of racial abuse by fans of FC Lugano in their one nil defeat at the Cornaredo on Sunday evening.

The goalkeeper is reported to have heard racist slur from the Lugano fans that was pointed in his direction with the club forced to apologize and promised to investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to book.

“We would like to apologize to FC St.Gallen and the player. There must be no place for racism. The club will do its best to find those responsible," Lugano posted on their social media page.

St. Gallen are yet to give a formal response on the matter. The game ended 1-0 in favor of Lugano who were playing at home.

Lugano who were the home team have issued a statement denying any wrong doing on the part of their supporters.

STATEMENT BELOW:

An in-depth analysis of the television images and a collection of information through the experts was able to ascertain that, as far as we know, there was no episode of racism in Cornaredo last night during the match against San Gallo.

Some videos circulated immediately after the match suggested howls aimed at the green-and-white goalkeeper Zigi, hence our club's immediate apologies.

In fact, it was found that it was a chorus of incitement to the goalkeeper himself by a dozen St. Gallen fans who, despite the ban, managed to obtain tickets for the match online. The bianconeri fans present in the Monte Brè stand then resumed the same “zigi-zigi-zigi-zigi” chorus as a simple mockery towards San Gallo.

FC Lugano (which luckily has never seen episodes of racism in the recent past) nevertheless takes the opportunity to point out that there is no place for racism in everyday life and not even in the stadium.

The club is now deeply sorry for their fans who felt wronged. An apology in this case is just as necessary. The company also thanks its fans for their behavior at the stadium in recent weeks to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Further precautions will be taken immediately to prevent away team supporters from obtaining tickets via the internet.