Official – Inter Milan & Italy Defender Found Not Guilty Of Alleged Racial Abuse

Inter Milan and Italy defender Francesco Acerbi has been found not guilty of racially abusing Napoli’s Juan Jesus.

The Sporting Judge in Italy has confirmed that there will be no punishment after concluding the investigation into an incident between the two players, via FCInterNews.

Over the past week, the investigation has been ongoing into an incident between Inter’s Acerbi and Napoli’s Jesus.

The Partenopei player alleged that Acerbi used racially discriminatory language during an argument on the pitch.

This included the use of a highly offensive slur which translates to the n-word in English.

Jesus had initially reacted after the match by saying that “What happens on the pitch, stays on the pitch.” He said that he had accepted an apology from Acerbi.

But then the Inter defender completely denied the use of racist language.

This led to an angry and vehement response to Jesus who accused Acerbi of changing his story.

Francesco Acerbi Found Not Guilty Of Racially Abusing Juan Jesus

Sporting Judge Gerardo Mastrandrea tasked the prosecutors’ office of the Italian FA to investigate and get to the bottom of the controversial incident between Acerbi and Jesus.

Prosecutor Giuseppe Chine headed up the investigation.

Chine questioned both Acerbi and Jesus to get their respective versions of events. He also reviewed other evidence including relevant footage and other interviews.

The Italian FA prosecutor returned all the evidence he had collected to Mastrandrea over the weekend.

And Sporting Judge Mastrandrea has delivered his final verdict.

The Judge has found Acerbi not guilty of racially abusing Jesus based on the evidence that Chine collected.

According to the report, there wasn’t sufficient evidence available to prove that Acerbi racially abused Juan Jesus.

This means that there will be no punishment for the former Lazio and Sassuolo defender.

Had Mastrandrea found Acerbi guilty, the 36-year-old would have risked a ten-match ban. That is the minimum suspension for racial discrimination incidents under the Code of Sporting Justice in Italy.

Moreover, a guilty verdict would certainly have led to Acerbi losing his place for Italy at the Euros., And very likely ended the veteran defender’s time at Inter.

Now, it remains to be seen what Inter’s reaction will be regarding Acerbi.

The 36-year-old is theoretically available for selection in the team’s next match, against Empoli. However, irrespective of the not guilty verdict, this week’s firestorm could still affect the player’s reputation.