Inter defender Francesco Acerbi has been found not guilty of racially abusing Napoli centre back Juan Jesus during a recent Serie A match.

Serie A sports judge Gerardo Mastrandrea returned the verdict today, having come to the decision following an investigation by the FIGC Prosecutor’s office, led by Giuseppe Chine. Both players were questioned on Friday last week as part of the case.

On March 17th, in the closing stages of the 1-1 draw between Inter and Napoli, Juan Jesus accused Acerbi of calling him a ‘n****r’, pulling aside referee Federico La Penna to report the incident. The Italian defender claimed he was misheard and that he said ‘I’ll beat you black and blue’.

As confirmed by Mastrandrea today, Acerbi has now been acquitted of racially abusing Juan Jesus, avoiding a possible 10-match ban for the Inter defender, due to a lack of evidence corroborating the Napoli defender’s version of events. Audio, video and testimonial evidence were all analysed and played a part in the decision.

Recent reports suggested that Inter were furious with the situation and could decide to cut ties with the veteran centre back in the summer, but his future at the club now appears more secure following the ruling.

Acerbi stats

This season, the 36-year-old Italian defender has scored two goals and provided two assists in 2567 minutes of action across 32 total appearances.

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