Former Black Stars captain John Mensah says he was shocked at the treatment meted out to Sulley Muntari after he was racially abused.
Muntari suffered a racial abuse from Cagliari fans during a league match with his club side Pescara last Sunday.
The Italian football authorities were forced to knock back on an earlier decision to punish the Ghanaian with a one-match ban for walking off the pitch.
The sporting world united behind the Ghana international, forcing a reversal of the decision.
John Mensah who played for Italian side Genoa, Chievo, Modena and Cremonese has taken a swipe at the Italian football authorities over the incident.
“Italy is a big nation when it comes to football, there have come a long way in football, so they should have known better,” he told TV3.
“They have been to the World Cup several times and won the World Cup several times and for them to be still involved in racial abuse in this era is just not right.
“The supporters could have done better considering the pedigree of Italy in World Football, for a football Nation like that to still be issue out racial assault is bad.”