VINCENT KOMPANY warned England’s football chiefs: More boardroom diversity is needed to defeat racism.
It follows ex-Chelsea striker Demba Ba’s call for black stars to boycott playing in Italy.
Last weekend, ex-Manchester United ace Romelu Lukaku became the latest player to be racially abused when Cagliari yobs subjected him to vile monkey chants as he took a penalty for new club Inter Milan.
United stars Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford, plus Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham and Kurt Zouma, have also suffered sick racist taunts on social media.
Incredibly, Inter’s ultra group Scream of the North claimed monkey chants at matches are not racist but merely a way of “messing up opponents”.
And ex-Manchester City captain Kompany, now Anderlecht player-boss, told Sky Sports: “Romelu is a victim of something disgraceful, not just in a stadium, also in society.
“Real racism lies in the fact that none of these institutions have representatives who actually understand what Romelu is going through.
‘CLOSE THEM DOWN, DOCK POINTS’
“That’s the real issue. On boards at Uefa, in England and Italy — most places — there is a problem with diversity in places of power and in boardrooms.
“If you don’t have diversity, you can’t have the right decisions in terms of sanctions, it’s as simple as that.”
Lukaku is just the latest player to be abused at Cagliari.
Last season, Everton’s Moise Kean suffered similar taunts when with Juventus, while Sulley Muntari and Samuel Eto’o have also been targeted.
Ba blasted the ultras’ response to chants at their own striker.
He stormed: “And here’s the reason why I decided not to play in Serie A.
“I wish all the black players would get out of this league!”
Former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright said: “Cagliari have a massive rap sheet, so they should be banned. Close them down, threaten them, dock points.”
Anti-racism group Kick It Out are to meet with police and the Crown Prosecution Service to plot a way of “identifying and punishing anyone who posts discriminatory abuse on Twitter”.
The PFA has demanded “extended protection” for players and action by social media firms — including permanent bans.
Twitter claims to have acted on 700 football- related cases in Britain in the past fortnight.