- Clubs in almost every major league across the continent have been affected, however, most regularly in Italy's Serie A and the English Premier League.
- Here is a list of 15 incidents that have afflicted the sport this year.
- Read more of our soccer coverage here.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Racism has been rife in European soccer throughout 2019.
Bulgaria, Rudiger, Malcom
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April 2: Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci says teammate Moise Kean is '50/50' to blame after being racially abused by Cagliari fans
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Kean, 19, celebrated a goal in front of Cagliari fans who had racially abused him, leading to his teammate Bonucci saying the blame was "50/50", according to The Independent.
He later backtracked on the comments, saying he was "misunderstood," according to The Guardian.
April 4: England defender Danny Rose says he 'can't wait' to retire from football after he was racially abused by Montenegro fans
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"I've had enough," Rose told The Sun after England's black players had abuse hurled at them from Montenegro fans.
"At the minute how I programme myself, I just think to myself: 'I've got five or six more years left in football and I just can't wait to see the back of it.'"
April 12: A match in Ligue 1 was halted for several minutes after Amiens defender Prince Gouano was racially abused by opposition fans
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Gouano asked for play to be stopped late on, after which he went over to confront Dijon fans for what he believed to be monkey chanting, according to The Guardian.
One man was subsequently arrested. Gouano described the incident as "unacceptable."
August 2: Anti-racism charity Kick It Out was 'appalled' after reports of four racist incidents on the opening weekend of the season in England
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The charity said it was disgraced to hear of the "unacceptable discriminatory abuse" directed at a number of stars in the English Football League.
"Discrimination casts a shadow over football in this country, and we will not stop highlighting the problem while it remains rife in the game," it added in its official statement.
August 3: Zenit St Petersburg fans display a banner to Brazilian Malcom stating that black players aren't welcome at the club
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Malcom was making his debut for the Russians following his $54 million transfer from Barcelona, when some of the club's fans held aloft the abhorrent flag.
It read "RIP Selection 12," which is a reference to a manifesto created by some extreme supporters that discourage the club from having black players, according to The Independent.
"We are not racist and for us, the absence of black players is just an important tradition," the section of ultras wrote in a statement following the match.
August 14: Chelsea's Tammy Abraham is targeted online by racists after missing a penalty against Liverpool
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The Englishman missed the decisive spot-kick in the UEFA Super Cup final, and was subsequently called a "black c---," and a "f------ n-----" on Twitter.
Abraham told The Independent the ordeal left his mother "in tears," asking: "Why him?"
September 2: Inter Milan fans penned a letter to striker Romelu Lukaku claiming the monkey chants directed at him are not racist
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Lukaku was subjected to racist chants at the hands of Cagliari fans, but Inter's ultras wrote him a letter in which it accused him of being mistaken.
"We are really sorry you thought that what happened in Cagliari was racist. You have to understand that Italy is not like many other north European countries where racism is a REAL problem," the letter read, according to The Independent.
"We understand that it could have seemed racist to you but it is not like that. We are not racist and so are not the Cagliari fans."
October 14: Bulgaria fans make Nazi salutes and monkey noises aimed at England's black players during a Euro 2020 qualifier
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The match was halted twice in the first half, and at half time Bulgaria's captain Ivelin Popov walked over to the guilty parties and appeared to plead with them to stop.
A group were ejected from the stadium, but the chants reportedly continued after the break, and no official action was taken.
November 2: Serie A's 'Derby of the Sun' is temporarily suspended after racist abuse aimed at Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly
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Players gathered in the centre circle at the Stadio Olimpico after Roma fans aimed racist chants at Koulibaly, according to TalkSPORT.
The Senegal defender had also previously been subjected to abuse at the hands of Inter Milan fans in 2018.
November 3: Brescia's Mario Balotelli was racially abused by Hellas Verona fans, prompting him to kick the ball at a section of the crowd
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Balotelli thumped the ball into the upper echelons of the stands and threatened to leave the field after monkey chants were directed at him.
Verona boss Ivan Juric denied the abuse after, saying that it was "nothing more" than "whistling and teasing," according to the BBC.
November 17: Den Bosch fans reportedly called an opposition player a 'negro and cotton-picker' during a Dutch league game
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Ahmad Mendes Moreira, who plays for Excelsior Rotterdam, was left in tears because of the vile chants. The match was also halted for 10 minutes.
The abuse of the Dutch striker prompted a protest from players across the league the following week, in which they stood still for the first minute of their matches and displayed anti-racism banners.
November 21: Brazilian striker Taison is banned by the Ukrainian FA after kicking the ball at racists who left him in tears
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Shakhtar Donetsk's Taison was sent off after he raised his middle finger and kicked the ball at Dynamo Kyiv fans in response toracial abuse directed at him.
The UFA upheld his suspension, despite Kyiv fans being found of guilty of the abuse and being fined $21,000.
December 5: An Italian newspaper uses the headline 'Black Friday' alongside two black players to promote a match
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Corriere dello Sport used pictures of Romelu Lukaku and Chris Smalling opposite each other alongside the headline as a preview to Inter Milan's clash with AS Roma in early December.
Roma described the title as "terrible," while the anti-discrimination organization Fare Network said that "the media fuels racism every day."
December 16: Serie A used portraits of monkeys as a bizarre anti-racism statement
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Painted by artist Simone Fugazzotto, the three monkeys one western, one Asian, and one black were designed to show that "we are all monkeys."
Serie A did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
December 22: Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger reported hearing monkey noises directed at him in the crowd during a game against Tottenham
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The noises reportedly came shortly after Rudiger was kicked by Tottenham's Son-Heung min, which resulted in the Korean being sent off.
"When will this nonsense stop?" he tweeted after the match.
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