Veteran Inter Milan defender, Francesco Acerbi, has been cleared of allegations that he racially insulted Napoli’s Juan Jesus during a recent Serie A match. The ruling was handed down on Tuesday, by Italian Football League Judge, Gerardo Mastrandrea.
In his judgement, Mastrandrea stated the proceedings failed to reach “the minimum level of reasonable certainty as to the discriminatory content of the offence”. As a result, Acerbi faced no sanctions over the alleged incident that occurred during the 1-1 draw between league leaders Inter and seventh-placed Napoli on March 18.
Following the match, the 36-year-old defender temporarily left the Italy national team training camp but denied using any racist language towards Jesus. The Napoli defender had claimed Acerbi apologised to him after the alleged insult.
The high-profile case highlighted ongoing concerns over racism in Italian football. Serie A has introduced measures like suspending games for discriminatory chants, but critics argue more must be done to combat the issue at all levels.
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