Napoli Players Take the Knee for Juan Jesus Anti-Racism Claim

Napoli’s players took the knee prior to their match on Saturday, while the crowd shouted “no to racism”, as part of an initiative following the decision of the club not to charge Francesco Acerbi for alleged racist comments towards Juan Jesus.

A sports judge ruled that Acerbi’s remarks towards Jesus could have been offensive. However, the Judge concluded that there was insufficient evidence to classify the remarks as racist.

Napoli announced that they would not adhere to the “official” Lega Serie A anti-racism campaign, before their match against Atalanta on Saturday. As a result, the players removed the ‘Keep racism out’ patch from the right sleeve of their jerseys.

Napoli players took the knee during the Lega Serie A anthem in response to the authorities. Supporters at the Studio Diego Armando Maradona displayed anti-racism signs and voiced their support for Jesus.

Earlier in March, during the match between Napoli and Inter, the game was momentarily halted when Jesus approached the referee regarding Acerbi’s remarks. However, the Italian Federation (FIGC) said there was “no defamatory, denigrating or racist intent” to the comments and the case was dismissed by a Serie A sports Judge due to lack of evidence.

Meanwhile, Acerbi, who withdrew from Italy’s friendlies during the international break, refutes the accusations.

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