Racism in Serie A is still at year zero

There must be, somewhere, a secret manual on how not to behave in the face of incidents of discrimination, and everyone in Italian football must have read it.The episode of Francesco Acerbi and Juan Jesus is unfortunately just the umpteenth confirmation of a system which, despite numerous precedents, seems to react every time as if it were the first.

Racism in football does not only concern Italy.The difference, however, lies in the response

Monday 18 March was exemplary from this point of view.While the controversy surrounding the racist epithet allegedly addressed by the Inter defender to his Brazilian opponent had been going on since the previous evening, in the morning Acerbi's agent, Federico Pastorello, spoke at the TransferRoom Summit in Rome supporting that in reality there had been no racist insult, and that the story had been "badly reported".In the early afternoon, the FIGC he announced the exclusion of the player from the national team, currently involved in a couple of friendly matches in the United States.A decision taken "to guarantee the necessary serenity for the national team and for the player himself", and not for the content of the offenses aimed at the opponent:indeed, the Federation clarified that, after the conversation with Acerbi, he had explained that there had been, on his part, "no defamatory, denigrating or racist intent".And here is the first doubt:Pastorello denies the explicit use of a racist word, while in the FIGC statement reference is made to the intent, not the term.

What exactly happened on Sunday evening during Inter-Napoli is currently known to only three people:Acerbi, Juan Jesus and the match referee, Federico La Penna.Around the hour mark, the Napoli defender went to him to report that he had received an insult from his opponent. Video, which has circulated a lot on social media, does not let us hear what Juan Jesus said, but the lips seem unmistakable, especially regarding the use of the so-called "n-word".To reiterate that there was a racist insult involved, the player pointed out to the referee the logo of the Serie A anti-racism campaign that he wears on his shirt.La Penna then called Acerbi back, who apologized to his opponent.A circumstance confirmed by Juan Jesus himself at the end of the match on DAZN, during an interview in which he limited himself to saying that the Nerazzurri had gone "a little further with words".

For almost the entire day on Monday, no one spoke specifically about a case of racism except to deny it and reduce everything to an issue of the field.Napoli also remained cryptic, posting on social media a video against racism, but without making any explicit reference to what happened the night before.We were probably waiting for the Sports Judge to express his opinion, having been called to certainly interview the two players and also the match director.The risk, for Acerbi, is that of a 10-match disqualification (which means no longer taking to the field between now and the end of the championship), but what would happen with the national team, with which Acerbi should play next summer's European Championships?And especially:Can a 10-game ban for a player for such an episode be considered fair, when the same thing, if done by a fan, entails a 5-year Daspo?

Inter, which has long positioned itself as a club at the forefront of the fight against racism, he issued his statement early Monday afternoon.That is to say 16 hours after the end of the match against Napoli:a delay that cannot help but bring to mind Udinese's own belated reaction following the racist insults directed by some of their fans towards AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan last January.The statement from the Nerazzurri club is rather short, and only says that the club will have "a discussion with its member as soon as possible" to shed light on the matter.And here another problem emerges.The video of Juan Jesus complaining to La Penna began circulating online during the match;at the end of the meeting, not only the Brazilian, but also the Inter fans Dimarco and Inzaghi were asked what had happened between Acerbi and the Napoli player.By the time the Nerazzurri team left San Siro, the case had already broken out and all the media were talking about it:How is it possible that the following afternoon the club still hadn't heard his version of events from its member?An even greater paradox is that, while Inter was in the dark about everything, Acerbi had already explained himself to his agent, the coach and his national team teammates.

On a communication level, no one is coming out of this well at the moment.All parties involved either denied it or stalled instead of addressing the issue, as if they were all caught off guard by what happened and the furor that followed.It doesn't help that the last round of Serie A was specifically dedicated to the new campaign against racism in Italian football:what could be one of the most serious discriminatory episodes in recent history - because it was committed by a member - occurred on the very day when, above all, the people on the pitch should have brought a completely opposite message.But in general there is also an information system that is failing:in this galaxy of correspondents and insider, always in direct contact with managers and players and ready to leak any indiscretion, no one - neither from Inter, nor from Napoli, nor from Italy - was able to confirm the type of offense that had been discussed for 24 hours .

Acerbi, returning to Milan on Monday evening from Italy's retreat, he confirmed that he had not uttered any racist words, adding that the Brazilian had "misunderstood" his words.At that point the ball necessarily moved between the feet of Juan Jesus, implicitly called to confirm or deny the opponent's version, who was switching to the victim's side (the misunderstood person) after initially being on the culprit's side.And the Napoli defender responded in the evening on his Instagram profile, saying what most people had imagined all along.There was a racist insult, and it was precisely the "n-word" that could be perceived from the video.Just as there were apologies and also an equally questionable addition from the Inter player:“for me black man it's an insult like any other”.

A sentence, the latter, which opens a further chapter:was it also reported in this way to the FIGC, resulting in a statement that providentially spoke of "intent" and not "words"?Because if this were the case, the question would widen, going well beyond Acerbi alone:who heard those words and thought of drafting that statement - Technical Commissioner Spalletti he claims that his thoughts are "enclosed" in the Federation's note - he should not be able to continue to hold his current roles in Italian football.At stake here is the very image of this sport in our country, especially that which is shown abroad, where unfortunately the idea that Serie A is the most racist championship in Europe is already well rooted.The one in which the most frequent episodes occur, in which the punishments are the lightest and most contradictory, in which the institutions themselves are a direct part of the problem (we remember the case of the 2019 Three Monkeys campaign).If for those who manage this 5 billion euro a year company the social perspective matters little, at least the commercial repercussions of a brand whose image is increasingly questionable should matter.

Blue Suitcase Live #ijf24 > Football and discrimination

As part of the initiative Live Blue Suitcase, Gian Marco Duina (Hopeball activist and founder), Valerio Moggia (sports journalist) and Marialaura Scatena (feminist sports journalist) will speak on April 21st at the International Journalism Festival of Perugia in the event “Football and discrimination”.

Preview image:video frames away republic.it