It has been a week of Sulley Muntari - Top players, coaches and football pundits have reacted to his bold protest against a racial abuse he suffered whiles playing for his club side Pescara in the Italian Serie A last Sunday.
What escalated the matter is when the Football authorities in Italy handed him a one-match suspension for walking off the pitch. Many have called for that ban to be rescinded with some even urging black players in the Serie to boycott this weekend's round of matches.
Italian football's reputation around the world has been damaged by the Sulley Muntari affair, the Italian Football Federation's anti-racism advisor says.
Fiona May said the decision to uphold the Pescara midfielder's punishment for protesting against racism while taking no action against fans had "sent a bad message".
She added she would strike in protest if she were a player.
"I'm frustrated and shocked," May said.
And the British-born former Olympic athlete May, who was hired by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in 2014, said: "If it was me, I would do that, if I wasn't part of the Federation, to say 'wait a minute, what's going on here?'
"I would say all players should consider it, to show solidarity," she told the BBC World Service World Football show - though she stressed she was speaking hypothetically.
May said the panel was wrong to follow its guidelines so strictly in this case and asked: "You can't put a number on how somebody can abuse a player on the pitch. How can somebody put a number on it?
"They shouldn't have said that. It doesn't matter if it is just was one person or 100 people in a stand, it doesn't matter, they shouldn't be doing racist chants full stop."
She was also critical of referee Daniele Minelli, and said he should have "stopped the game and listened".
May added: "Football is a global sport and I said to the FIGC president 'this is not helping the image of Italian football whatsoever'.
"My mother in England phoned me up and said 'what's going on over there?'"