Inter Milan chairman Steven Zhang has come out in defence of the widely criticised reaction from the club's ultras to Romelu Lukaku being racially abused.

The striker was taunted with monkey chants as he lined up to take a penalty during his debut against Cagliari last month.

Following Lukaku's call for something to be done, Inter's ultras responded by claiming that, in Italy, such chants do not constitute racial discrimination, but rather form part of an attempt to distract the player.

Speaking publicly on the issue, Zhang told the Daily Mail: "A lot of fans, when they did it, the intention was not bad."

Lukaku left Manchester United on deadline day to complete a £72m move to San Siro - a record sum for Inter - after falling out of favour under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Belgian, who silenced Cagliari fans by scoring the penalty, also netted during his home debut against Lecce last month.