19-year-old Juventus player Moise Kean is partly to blame for the racist abuse he gets, according to his teammate

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Moise Kean and Leonardo BonucciPhoto by MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images

Leonardo Bonucci has said his teammate Moise Kean is partly to blame for the racist abuse he gets.

Kean is a 19-year-old forward who has been taking Italian soccer by storm in the last month, having scored four goals in his last four Serie A games.

A precocious talent, Kean is renowned for his ball skills, the threat he poses from counter attacking situations, and a maturity that seemingly belies his years.

Part of that was on show when he scored the second goal in Juventus’ 2-0 win over Cagliari on Tuesday evening as his expert positioning saw him poke a near point-blank shot into the goal in the final minutes of the match, ensuring his team was awarded all three league points for the win.

That should have been the headline. However, fans screamed monkey noises at Kean before his goal — so he decided to celebrate in front of the Cagliari fans who had barracked him throughout the match.

Watch Kean’s goal and celebration here:

The BBC reports that Kean was subjected to further racist chants after his goal celebration. The abuse got so bad that Cagliari captain Luca Ceppitelli attempted to calm the team’s supporters, but Fox Sports reports that he was instead almost hit on the head by a plastic bottle seemingly thrown from the stands.

Following the game, Bonucci, one of the most senior members of the team because of his status as a seven-time league champion, said Kean was at fault.

"When he scores a goal, he has to focus on celebrating with his team-mates," Bonucci told Sky Sport, according to BBC. "I think the blame is 50-50, because Moise shouldn’t have done that, and the Curva [fans] should not have reacted that way."

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The Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri was also critical of Kean’s actions, but said that the racist chanting from the stands was unacceptable. "He shouldn’t have celebrated in that manner," Allegri said. "He is a young man and he has to learn, but certain things from the crowd also shouldn’t be heard."

Kean clearly disagrees as he posted a photograph of his goal celebration on Instagram, alongside the caption: "The best way to respond to racism."

Many of Kean’s peers have clapped back at the racist abuse, and at Bonucci’s handling of the situation.

The Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling, himself a target of racism, said "all you can do now is laugh."

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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Alan Dawson)

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