Inter’s Francesco Acerbi on racism case: “There was no racism on the pitch and I’m not a racist person” | OneFootball

Inter defender Francesco Acerbi has clarified his stance after the decision in the racism case, stating that there was no racism from his part and that he is not a racist person.

While Juan Jesus has released a statement questioning the judgement made in the case involving Acerbi, the Italian has also fired back. He recently spoke to Corriere della Sera (via Sky) and he stated that he never said anything racist in the game and his words were only misunderstood.

He stated: “This is not a fight against racism, there was no racism on the pitch and I am not a racist person : my idol was George Weah and, when my tumor was found, I received a surprise phone call from him that still excites me today. You’re just humiliating a person, massacring and threatening his family, but for what? For something that ended up on the pitch which has nothing to do with racism. Unfortunately, racism is a serious thing, not an alleged insult.”

The Italian stated that he has nothing against Jesus and he feels sorry for the Brazilian, but he can’t go on to accuse him of being racist even after the judgement is made.

“Now that there is a sentence, I would like to say my opinion, without having absolutely anything against Juan Jesus, in fact it’s the opposite because I’m very sorry for him but you can’t call a person racist for a misunderstood word in the heat of the game. And you can’t continue to do it even after I’ve been acquitted.”

Acerbi revealed that even after the judgement was passed, he was made to feel like he has killed someone. He said: “Sad for the whole situation that was created, for how it ended up on the pitch, for how everyone marched on us without knowing anything. Even after the acquittal I felt a great fury, as if I had killed someone.”

There has been talk of Jesus potentially taking the case to a higher court despite Acerbi’s aquittal but it remains to be seen how the situation evolves.

Kaustubh Pandey | GIFN