Napoli " astonished" at decision to exonerate Acerbi for alleged racist insults

Serie A's decision not to sanction Francisco Acerbi for alleged racist comments due to a lack of evidence has sparked anger and outrage from Napoli, Juan Jesus' club.

Napoli issued a harsh statement against Serie A decision. "Francesco Acerbi has not been sanctioned. According to the sports 'justice' system, Juan Jesus must be the guilty party, for unfairly accusing a fellow footballer."

"It is not reasonable to believe that he misunderstood. The principle of the greatest likelihood of an event, which exists in sports justice and which appears clear from the dynamics of the incident and the apology offered on the pitch, simply vanishes in this judgement."

The club is "astonished " by the decision. "We find it astonishing. If what happened on the pitch “is certainly compatible with the expression of offensive comments […] by the Inter player, who does not deny that they were offensive and threatening,” then why was Acerbi not sanctioned in any way?"

"If, as the judgement itself reads, “there was certainly proof of an insult,” why did the sports judge decide to take no action to punish the responsible party? We find that even more astonishing. Napoli will no longer take part in anti-racism and anti-discrimination initiatives run by football institutions that are merely symbolic, but we will continue to organise them ourselves, as we have always done, with renewed conviction and determination," concluded the statement.

Moreover, Juan Jesus himself has reacted to the decision not to sanction Acerbi. The Napoli defender changed his Instagram profile picture to a clenched fist, the symbol of Black Power.

 

March 26, 2024