Francesco Acerbi LEAVES Italy camp after allegedly racially abusing Juan Jesus in draw during Inter Milan’s draw with Napoli… with Brazilian revealing defender has apologised after ‘going over the top with his words’
- Francesco Acerbi is said to have racially abused Napoli’s Juan Jesus on Sunday evening
- The Inter Milan defender denies making racist comments
- The Premier League needs to wake up! More than 5 minutes before a VAR check… what about the paying customers in the stadium? – It all starts podcast
Francesco Acerbi has quit the Italy national team ahead of upcoming friendlies in the United States after allegedly racially abusing Napoli defender Juan Jesus.
The Inter Milan defender is said to have racially abused Brazil international Jesus during Sunday’s 1-1 draw in Serie A, something he has denied.
Juan Jesus, who is Black, was visibly upset in the second half as he walked towards the referee, who then persuaded Acerbi.
In close-up television footage, Juan Jesus appeared to tell the referee that Acerbi had used a racial slur.
The Brazilian, whose late equalizer earned a point for Napoli, can also be seen pointing to the ‘Keep Racism Out’ badge on the sleeve of his shirt, as part of the league’s anti-racism campaign.
Napoli defender Juan Jesus (left) accused Inter Milan defender Francesco Acerbi (right) of racially abusing him during their teams’ 1-1 draw at San Siro on Sunday evening
Acerbi (right) has steadfastly denied making racially offensive comments
The Napoli defender was visibly upset and called for the referee to intervene
Since then, new footage has emerged on
The pair embraced at the end of the match and the Napoli defender did not confirm the nature of the incident.
“What happens on the pitch stays on the pitch,” the Brazilian told DAZN.
‘Acerbi apologized, he went a bit over the top with his words. He’s a good guy.
‘Besides, we are of course adults, we can sort things out on the field. He apologized, we continued and when the referee blows his whistle, everything stops. It is well.’
Acerbi was not punished by referee Federico La Penna and Jesus added: “I hope it doesn’t happen again because he is an intelligent man.”
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said Acerbi explained his version of events to Italian coach Luciano Spalletti and his teammates and it was agreed that he would not participate in matches against Venezuela and Ecuador.
Referee Federico La Penna did not discipline Acerbi after the alleged incident
A statement on the FIGC website read: ‘Francesco Acerbi, who arrived at the national team camp in Rome this morning, explained to head coach Luciano Spalletti and his teammates his version of the alleged racist utterance reported by Juan Jesus during Inter vs Napoli last night, as required by Club Italia’s internal policies.
‘The report of the Nerazzurri defender, pending what would be reconstructed in accordance with the autonomy of sports justice, revealed that there were no defamatory, derogatory or racist intentions on his part.
‘However, it was agreed that Acerbi would be left out of the squad for the next two friendlies in the United States so that the situation for the national team and the player himself, who returns to his club today, can be dealt with.
‘As a result, Roma defender Gianluca Mancini, who was already on a reserved squad list, has been called up.’
An Inter statement added: ‘FC Internazionale Milano takes note of the official statement from the FIGC regarding the events involving Francesco Acerbi during last night’s match against Napoli, and the fact that FIGC and Acerbi have agreed that the player will not be recorded. involved in the national team’s next two friendly matches, scheduled in the United States.
‘FC Internazionale Milano will meet with the player as soon as possible to shed light on the exact details of what happened last night.’