SERIE A
Acerbi sidelined from Italian national side after Inter-Napoli alleged racist incident
The defender, accused of racism by Juan Jesus during the Inter-Napoli game, denied “having racist or discriminatory intentions”, but the FICG have decided to remove him from the Italy squad.
The spectre of racism has reared its ugly head again in Serie A. During Sunday’s Inter-Napoli clash at San Siro, Azzurro defender Juan Jesus told referee La Penna that he was racially insulted by the Inter Milan player. Television footage later revealed the dialogue between the Brazilian and match official: “He called me ‘black’, and that’s not right. It’s not good.” Meanwhile, the Napoli player pointed to the ‘Keep Racism Out’ patch that Serie A teams wore today on the sleeves of their shirts.
Acerbi, meanwhile, remained silent and did not appear before the cameras. This morning, however, the FIGC (Italian FA) announced that the center-back has left the Azzurra camp as Italy prepare for friendlies against Venezuela and Ecuador.
The FICG issued a statement on the issue: “The footballer Francesco Acerbi, who arrived this morning at the national team’s training camp in Rome, explained to coach Luciano Spalletti and his team-mates, as per Club Italia’s internal policy, his version of the alleged racist expression reported by the player Juan Jesus during the Inter-Napoli match.
From the account of the Nerazzurri defender and pending the reconstruction of what happened in respect of the autonomy of sports justice, it emerged that there was no defamatory, denigrating or racist intent on his part. However, it was agreed to exclude Acerbi from the call-up list for the next two friendly matches scheduled in the United States, in order to guarantee the necessary serenity for the national team and to the player himself, who will return to his home club today”.
Inter Milan also issued a brief statement adding: “FC Internazionale Milano will meet with the player as soon as possible to shed light on the exact details of what happened last night”.
His replacement in the Italy squad will be the Gianluca Mancini and as the polemic continues, Federico Pastorello, Acerbi’s agent, defended the Interista on ‘Radio Sportiva’: “There was no racist offense, he never said that phrase. I believe in what Francesco told me and he is a guy with great morals.”