Racism Allegations and Consequences in Italian Football

The immediate apologies on the field and the 'forgiveness' on live TV by Juan Jesus were not enough to spare Francesco Acerbi from the storm raised by the racist expression he allegedly used yesterday, on the world day against all forms of discrimination, towards the Napoli player. The first repercussion came in the morning, with the decision of the coach, Luciano Spalletti, to exclude the defender from the national team departing for the USA for a double friendly in preparation for Euro 2024. And while Inter announces a meeting with the player to clarify what happened, an investigation by the Federal Prosecutor's Office looms. The sanctions for racist offenses include a minimum of ten days of disqualification, which would mean the end of the championship for the defender. The Nerazzurri player claims, he told the coach and then to the microphones, that he did not utter racist phrases, but what happened on the field at Meazza between Acerbi and Juan Jesus needs to be reconstructed, also based on what the Brazilian reported to the referee La Penna and the subsequent report. 'It doesn't sit right with me, he called me 'a negro' and I don't accept that,' the Napoli player vehemently said based on the images, which immediately went viral on the web and social media. Juan Jesus at the end of the match then downplayed the incident, stating that 'everything can be said on the field, he saw that he went too far and apologized,' but the words could not suffice to close the matter, especially in light of a player called just a few hours later to represent Italy. And this morning, at the gathering in Rome, Acerbi found himself providing his own version to the coach and teammates about the alleged racist expression explaining that there was 'no defamatory, derogatory or racist intent' on his part. The exclusion, however, was inevitable, 'to ensure the necessary serenity for the National team and the player,' explained the FIGC. Spalletti at the gathering expressed great regret at having to make such decisions for similar issues, but also that 'we must be careful when we report such an incident.' 'We saw Francesco in difficulty - he concluded - but we must pay attention to our behavior.' Acerbi then left the gathering - in his place Gianluca Mancini was called up - and left for Milan, while Inter stated that it 'took note of the FIGC's communication' and reserved 'to have a confrontation with its own player as soon as possible 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 have been playing football for 20 years and I know what I say. I am calm.' According to his agent, Federico Pastorello, 'there was a dispute on the field but without using a racist expression or phrase: it was a clash of play, then maybe there was one word instead of another, but the word 'negro' was not used.' Napoli did not directly address the incident, but a video titled 'From Naples to the world, shout it out loud: no to racism' was posted on the official Twitter profile, with the Azzurri players filmed in close-up saying phrases against racism in their respective languages.