Malagò, President of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), made the bizarre claim in an interview with Radio24.

The former futsal player, set to lead the Organising Committee for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, said players who dive are "more wrong" than those who racially abuse them.

"The fans who jeer black players are wrong," Malagò said.

"However, it’s even more wrong when someone who earns €3 million (£2.7 million/$3.3 million) dives in the box and is then also happy to take the penalty."

Malagò's comments follow a number of incidents of racism in Italian football barely five weeks into the season.

A match between Atalanta and Fiorentina in Serie A, the top division in Italy, was briefly halted on Sunday (September 22) because of racist chanting.

Earlier this season, Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku was subjected to monkey chants before he took a penalty in his side's clash with Cagliari.

An Inter Milan fan group claimed the chants from Cagliari - who were subsequently cleared of wrongdoing - were a form of respect and not racist.

It has long been a problem in Italian football and the recent incidents prompted FIFA President Gianni Infantino to claim clubs in the country should throw fans out of stadiums for racist abuse.

"You can't have racism in society or in football," said Infantino. 

"In Italy, the situation hasn't improved.

"Racism is combated with education, condemnation and discussion.

"You need to identify those responsible and throw them out of the stadiums. 

"You need, as in England, the certainty of the penalty. You can't be afraid to condemn racists, we need to combat them until they stop."

insidethegames has contacted the IOC for a reaction to Malagò's comments.