PAUL INCE will be re considering his future in Italy this week, after a bitter sweet afternoon saw him score his first goal for Inter Milan and then be the target of racist chants.

Inter beat Cremonese 4-2 away on Saturday after Ince had opened the scoring, and he was later paid tributes by both coach Roy Hodgson and club president Massimo Moratti.

However, if the two officials are desperate to keep their combative midfielder, Ince made it clear: "I certainly haven't come to Italy to be insulted."

The trouble started after a first half aerial collision with the Cremonese goalkeeper, Luigi Turci. The home crowd began whistling, then shouting and finally chanting (`negro di merda' - `black shit').

Ince first reacted with irony accepting the chants as if they were applause, and was promptly booked. His second more positive reaction came in injury time before the break with a low 20 metre drive which had Turci beaten.

"This never happened to me in England," Ince said. "But I don't want to think about it, I just want to enjoy my first goal in Italy. As for the booking, I just applauded the people who were insulting me, it's not as if it was anything obscene."

In the league, Juventus closed the gap on leaders AC Milan to six points, beating Torino 2-1 in the Turin derby as Milan were held to a goalless draw by Lazio.

In Spain, six times European champions Real Madrid saw their chances of qualifying for continental competition next season fade after losing 1-0 at home to struggling Sporting Gijon. The result leaves Real in seventh, four points away from a UEFA Cup place, with just seven games left. The Spanish champions have only failed to qualify for Europe once in their history.