Napoli team protests racism by taking a knee!

Napoli's match today at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, where they hosted Atalanta and were defeated 3-0, featured an unusual protest during the pre-match ceremony.

During the ceremony, the Napoli players collectively took a knee—a symbolic anti-racism gesture common in US sports—in support of their teammate Juan Jesus. The Napoli players were protesting the racism allegedly directed at Jesus by Inter player Francesco Acerbi during their previous league match against Inter.

Napoli fans also chanted against Acerbi, who was accused of using racist language toward Juan Jesus but was not sanctioned by the federation's sports judge due to insufficient evidence, and banners reading "No to racism" were displayed in the stands.

THE INCIDENT THAT LED TO THE PROTEST

Following the Inter-Napoli match played on March 17 during the 29th week of Serie A, the claim by visiting team Napoli's Juan Jesus that Inter player Francesco Acerbi had directed racist insults at him during the match had caused a stir in the country.

Following these allegations, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) announced that 36-year-old Acerbi had been removed from the Italian National Team squad for the matches against Venezuela and Ecuador on March 22 and 24.

Acerbi, who was referred to the federation's sports judge on charges of racism, was cleared during the week due to lack of evidence and did not receive any penalty.

This decision was met with "astonishment" and "disappointment" by Napoli and Juan Jesus.

Napoli Club had stated that they would not participate in Serie A's anti-racism campaigns in football and would follow their own path on this matter.

News Source: AA