The immediate apology on the pitch and Juan Jesus’ ‘forgiveness’ on live TV were not enough to avoid Francesco Acerbi from the storm raised by the racist expression he allegedly used yesterday, the world day against all discrimination, against the Napoli player.
The first setback arrived in the morning, with the decision of the coach, Luciano Spalletti, to exclude the defender from the national team group leaving for the USA for a double friendly match in preparation for Euro 2024.
For further information Agenzia ANSA Football, faith and beaten cancer. Acerbi “never racist” – News – Ansa.it The Inter defender often at the center of controversy (ANSA)
And if Inter announces a meeting with the player to clarify what happened, an investigation by the federal prosecutor’s office looms. The sanctions foreseen for racist offenses include a minimum ten-match ban, which would mean the championship is over for the defender. The Nerazzurri claims, he said to the coach and also to the microphones, that he did not utter racist phrases, but what happened on the pitch at the Meazza between Acerbi and Juan Jesus still needs to be reconstructed, also based on what the Brazilian reported to the referee the Pen and the subsequent report. “It doesn’t suit me, he told me ‘you’re a nigger’ and that doesn’t suit me”, the Napoli player would have said vehemently based on the images, which immediately made the rounds on the web and social media.
For further information Agenzia ANSA Serie A: Juan Jesus responds to Darmian, Inter-Napoli ends 1-1 – News – Ansa.it Nerazzurri +14 on Milan, 15 points left for the scudetto (ANSA)
At the end of the match, Juan Jesus then toned down the story, claiming that “on the pitch he’s telling us everything, he saw that he went further and apologised”, but words couldn’t be enough to put an end to it, especially in the face of a player called up only a few hours later to represent Italy. And this morning, at the rally in Rome, Acerbi found himself providing his version to the coach and his teammates on the alleged racist expression, explaining that there was “no defamatory, denigrating or racist intent” on his part. However, the exclusion was inevitable, “to guarantee the necessary serenity for the national team and the player”, explained the FIGC.
Spalletti said at the meeting that he was very sorry to have to decide on similar issues, but also that “we must be careful when we report an episode like this”. “We saw Francesco in difficulty – he concluded – but we must be careful of our behaviour”. Acerbi then left the gathering – Giallorossi Gianluca Mancini was called up in his place – and left for Milan, while Inter made it known that they “had taken note of the communication from the FIGC” and reserved the right to have “a discussion as soon as possible with your member in order to shed light on the exact dynamics of what happened last night”. Intercepted upon arrival at the Central station, Acerbi gave his version: “Racist phrases have never come out of my mouth. I’ve been playing football for 20 years and I know what I’m saying. I’m calm.” According to his agent, Federico Pastorello, yesterday there was “an argument on the pitch but without using a racist expression or phrase: it was a clash in the game, then maybe there was a word instead of a other, but the word ‘nigger’ was not used.”
Video Napoli: ‘Shout out loud to the world, no to racism’
Napoli did not express themselves directly on the matter, but a video was published on the official Twitter profile entitled “From Naples to the world, shout it out loud: no to racism”, with the Azzurri players framed in the foreground saying in their respective language phrases against racism.
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2024-03-18 18:10:56
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