Rai Sport have officially denied one of their technicians made a racist insult towards Juventus defender Medhi Benatia, but the investigation continues.
The incident occurred after last night’s 1-1 draw with Torino, when Benatia via video link was listening to the studio on an ear-piece.
He heard a racist insult through the ear-piece, so many presumed it was a technician who had his microphone on and hadn’t realised he would be heard.
Rai Sport have officially denied one of their technicians made a racist insult towards Juventus defender Medhi Benatia, but the investigation continues.
The incident occurred after last night’s 1-1 draw with Torino, when Benatia via video link was listening to the studio on an ear-piece.
He heard a racist insult through the ear-piece, so many presumed it was a technician who had his microphone on and hadn’t realised he would be heard.
This afternoon Rai released a statement noting they are “sincerely sorry for the deplorable incident of racism that involved the Juventus player Benatia during our Calcio Champagne programme and fortunately it was not heard by the viewers, as it did not go on air.
“Rai put into motion all attempts to verify and identify who was responsible for this and at the moment we can exclude that the unacceptable phrase was uttered by a dependent of our company.
“The investigation continues, but considering the gravity of the situation, Rai meanwhile offer our total solidarity to the player and the club.”
Benatia heard the utterance and asked: “Who said that? I heard someone talking in the background. They insulted me.”
The Rai presenter then spoke of “technical difficulties” and cut short the interview.