Luciano Passirani, who was sacked from his punditry role after comments made about Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku, has said he is "not a racist."
The Italian was dismissed by TopCalcio24 after he said the only way to stop Lukaku is "if you have 10 bananas to give him."
Speaking to Telelombardia (h/t Corriere dello Sport, via Harry Latham-Coyle of The Independent), Passirani denied he is racist:
"I am 80 years old. I have been in the world of football for 40 years, I have never received a disqualification for behaviour in any of the roles I have held, but I accept the decision made against me.