Francesco Acerbi Speaks Out on Racism Allegations and Personal Ordeals

"There was no racism on the field and I am not a racist person: my idol was George Weah and when I was diagnosed with cancer, I received a surprise call from him that still moves me today. It's just humiliating a person, slaughtering and threatening his family, but for what? For something that ended on the field and where racism has nothing to do with it. Racism unfortunately is a serious matter, not an alleged insult," Francesco Acerbi said in a long interview with Corriere della Sera, commenting on the sports judge's acquittal after the accusation of racist insults towards Napoli player Juan Jesus. "I was more afraid now, for the threats after the Juan Jesus case, than when I had cancer," added the Inter defender in a passage of the conversation. "There's no comparison with the disease, that in comparison was a walk in the park, I was not afraid. Instead, the atrocious persecution I have seen against me these days has hurt me. I did so much to remove the label I had when I was younger and to become an example of perseverance and professionalism and I risked losing everything in an instant." "I am sad and sorry: it is a matter in which we all lost," he continued. "When I was acquitted, I saw the people around me react as if I had come out after ten years in jail, very happy to come out of such a situation: they were very heavy days. I only speak today because I had faith in justice and did not want to risk fueling a controversy that was already huge," said the player. "Now that there is a verdict, I would like to say my piece, without having absolutely anything against Juan Jesus, on the contrary, because I am also very sorry for him. But you cannot call someone a racist for a misunderstood word in the excitement of the game. And you cannot continue to do so even after I have been acquitted," added the Inter defender.