Roma have been fined £50,000 for the racist chanting of their fans during Sunday’s Serie A tie with AC Milan, at the San Siro.

Play was held up for approximately two minutes due to the chanting, with Roma captain Francesco Totti going to speak with the Roma fans in an attempt to stop the abuse of Milan’s black players, notably Mario Balotelli.

Following the ruling Roma released a statement supporting the effort to eradicate racism from Italian football:
"This type of behaviour from any football supporters, including ours, is completely unacceptable. We are committed to facing this issue head-on to rid our sport of this problem and promote respect for all.”

Immediately after the game Milan manager Massimo Allegri said Italian football is “a place for the uncivilised” and “the culture in Italy is backward”.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter also criticised the actions of the Roma fans, tweeting: "Appalled to read about racist abuse in Serie A. Tackling this issue is complex, but we're committed to action, not just words."

The issue of racism in Italian football is a long running one that pervades every level of the game. In February the Milan Vice-President was accused of using racist language to describe Mario Balotelli, while this is the third time since January – when Kevin Prince Boateng led a team walk off during a friendly game against Pro Patria – that a Milan game has been marred by racist chanting.