The Emirates called for strengthening the international humanitarian response and providing urgent relief to those in need
mena4 hours ago
There are few better sights in world football than the imposing Romelu Lukaku when the Belgian striker has the ball at his feet. Powerful and unstoppable when in the mood, Lukaku was immense at the 2018 World Cup as his four goals and marauding runs from the midfield steered Belgium to a third-place finish in Russia.
But the Antwerp-born striker was unable to replicate that form for Manchester United, forcing him to leave the Premier League for Serie A last year.
It was Inter Milan that jumped at the opportunity to sign him under Antonio Conte. And Lukaku hit the ground running as he began scoring goals for fun.
But just when things were beginning to look very good for Lukaku with him occupying the third spot in the Serie A top scorers' list behind Ciro Immobile (Lazio, 27 goals) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus, 21 goals) with 17 goals, Italy was rocked by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Football, though, continued even as scores of people lost their lives to the deadly virus that brought Italy to its knees.
And it wasn't until March 10 that the Italian authorities finally decided to suspend the league - just one day before Juventus confirmed that their defender Daniele Rugani became the first Serie A player to test positive for coronavirus.
Now, Lukaku, just like his marauding runs from the midfield, tore into the Italian football authorities for their delayed response to the acute health crisis that has crippled the country.
During a live interaction with Arsenal legend Thierry Henry on Puma's Instagram page, Lukaku said it was as if the authorities were waiting for a player to test positive before taking a decision to suspend the league.
This, he says, put everyone's life at risk.
"Health comes first. Why should we play if there are people in the world who are risking their lives?' Lukaku said during his live session with Henry on Puma's Instagram page.
"Why was it only necessary for a player to test positive in order for football to stop? It's not normal."
Lukaku, though, admitted that he is missing football, especially after making such a fine start to life in a new league. But, at the same time, the 26-year-old striker reiterated that fighting the menace of the Covid-19 is much more important now than playing football.
"I will admit that I do miss football, but now the most important thing is people's health. Everything else comes secondary to that," he said.
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com
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