On the 19th of this month, the Italian Football League opened an investigation against the player from Inter MilanAcerbi, for alleged racist insults against the Brazilian Juan Jesus, from Halfi. However, last Tuesday, the Italian escaped punishment due to lack of evidence. This Friday, Acerbi gave an interview to Corriere della Serain which he spoke about what happened and stated that he had lived through ‘heavy days’.
“I’m sad and sorry: it’s a case in which we all lost. When I was acquitted, I saw people around me react as if I had been released after ten years in prison, very happy to have come out of a situation like this: those were very heavy”, said the defender.
When asked why he only talked about what happened after his acquittal, Acerbi replied that he did not want to increase the controversy and claimed to feel sorry for Juan Jesus. “Because I had faith in justice and I didn’t want to run the risk of fueling a confusion that was already enormous. Now that there is a sentence, I would like to give my opinion, without having absolutely anything against Juan Jesus, on the contrary, because I also feel very sorry for him But you can’t call a person racist because of a misunderstood word in the emotion of the game. And they can’t continue to do so even after I’ve been acquitted.”
They’re back 😁 🖤💙#ForzaInterpic.twitter.com/aocWKmDD6t
— Inter (@Inter_br) March 28, 2024
The Italian also pointed out that he was found guilty even before the sentence was concluded, and, for many, he is still racist.
“If we have ten days of being considered racist, what do we do? Anything could have happened, I would be finished, not as a footballer, which interests me to a certain extent, but as a man. Everyone had already given the sentence even before for her to leave. And for many, I’m still racist today. Honestly, I’m not giving in, that doesn’t help solve a problem like racism, which certainly exists”, said Acerbi.
The athlete also said that insults should stay on the pitch, and, when asked if the pitch was a ‘free zone’ to say whatever he wanted, he said it ‘shouldn’t be’. “It shouldn’t be, but you hear a little bit of everything. If the referee had to write down everything he hears with paper and pen, he would have to run with a backpack. But it always ends there, otherwise everything becomes reprehensible, even the insults to Serbs, to Italians, to mothers.”
Because of what happened, Acerbi was cut from Italy’s squad for the friendlies against Venezuela and Ecuador. Juan Jesus, after the Inter Milan player’s acquittal, regretted the Sports Judge’s decision.
“I have read several times, with great regret, the decision with which the Sports Judge considered that there is no evidence that I was the victim of racist insults during the Inter-Napoli game on March 17th: it is an assessment that, although respecting that , I have difficulty understanding and this leaves me with a lot of bitterness”, pointed out the Brazilian.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
