Football

Francesco Acerbi-Juan Jesus Racism Controversy: Case Dismissed Due To Lack Of Evidence

The Inter Milan player was implicated by Napoli바카라s Juan Jesus in the closing stages of their 1-1 draw. Acerbi protested his innocence but agreed to withdraw from the Italy camp for the friendlies against Venezuela and Ecuador

AP
Napoli's Giacomo Raspadori, left, vie for the ball with Inter Milan's Francesco Acerbi during their Serie A match at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy on March 17, 2024. Photo: AP
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Italy defender Francesco Acerbi will face no further action over allegations of racism against Napoli바카라s Juan Jesus, whose claims have been dismissed due to a lack of evidence. (More Football News)

The Inter Milan player was implicated by his opponent in the closing stages of a 1-1 draw earlier this month, with Jesus briefly pausing the match to report the matter to the referee.

Acerbi protested his innocence but agreed to withdraw from the national squad for this week바카라s games against Venezuela and Ecuador after discussing the matter with manager Luciano Spalletti.

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Serie A sports judge Gerardo Mastrandrea considered the case against Acerbi, speaking to both men, others present on the pitch and also consulting recordings of the incident, but found insufficient proof to support Jesus바카라 own testimony.

Had he been found guilty, Acerbi faced potentially serious sanctions that could have included a lengthy ban and thrown his hopes of featuring in this summer바카라s European Championships into doubt. Instead, he has been cleared to turn out again for Inter when their league schedule resumes on April 1.

Mastrandrea바카라s ruling concluded: 바카라In this case the minimum level of reasonable certainty regarding the discriminatory content of the offence committed is not reached.

바카라Without calling into question the good faith of the Napoli player, it appears to have been perceived only by 바카라offended바카라 footballer without the support of any external evidence, be it audio, video or even testimonial.

바카라Discriminatory conduct, due to its intrinsic severity and intolerability, especially when it refers to the person바카라s race, skin colour or religion, must be sanctioned with the utmost severity in accordance with the Code of Sports Justice and the rules international sporting events.

바카라But it is nevertheless necessary that the imposition of such burdensome sanctions is correspondingly assisted by a minimum amount of evidence, or at least by serious, precise and consistent evidence in order to achieve reasonable certainty.바카라

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