Mayor of Nogara defends Udogie against racial attacks.

Nigeria-born Italian defender Destiny Udogie’s hometown congratulated him on making his senior Italy debut, but it was bombarded by hateful racist comments aimed against the Tottenham Hotspur defender.

Udogie was born and raised in Nogara, on the outskirts of Verona, to Nigerian parents.

He was eligible to play for both Italy and Nigeria but has always chosen the Azzurri at various youth levels starting from the Under-16 team.

Udogie made his senior debut at the age of 20 as a substitute in the 4-0 win over Malta, then started the 3-1 defeat to England last night.

The Facebook page of the Nogara town council posted a message celebrating the Italy debut of their hometown hero.

However, as is so often the case online, it was targeted by racist insults accusing Udogie of ‘not being a real Italian’ and of ‘changing the face’ of the national team.

Mayor of Nogara Flavio Pasini was outraged and insisted the messages were tracked down to people who were not from his town.

“I want to be clear: we stand against any comments made against the colour of Destiny’s skin. Udogie is from Nogara and it is unacceptable to read certain things said about a young man who was born and raised in my town, who made his dream come true with his debut in the Azzurri jersey.

“I tried to figure out who had written these things and realised those insulting him were not from Nogara, but rushed to our Facebook page to insult a good guy for no reason. He is one of us and we are very proud of him.”The