Napoli forgo ‘façade’ anti-racism campaign over Acerbi verdict

Napoli said it would refuse to take part in Serie A's 'Keep Racism Out' campaign due to the league and Italian football federation's decision not to punish Inter Milan defender Francesco Acerbi for allegedly allegedly made racist remarks against defender Juan Jesus during the match between the two teams on March 17.

On Tuesday, the league announced that the sports judge had decided not to punish Acerbi for the alleged incident, saying that the “minimum level of reasonable certainty” had not been reached regarding the racial nature of the incident, even though the judgment notes that an “offensive and “threatening content” was clear in the images and statements analyzed.

The club released a statement the same day saying it would not take part in Serie A's 'Keep Racism Out' campaign.

“We will no longer join the facade initiatives of football institutions against racism and discrimination, but we will continue to do them ourselves, as we have always done, with renewed conviction and determination,” said Naples.

Napoli released a new jersey on Wednesday and the club's marketing director confirmed at the launch that it would not wear the 'Keep Racism Out' patch on the right sleeve.

“Napoli has already made it known that any initiative would be taken by Naples and no longer by intermediaries of organizations and associations,” declared Tommaso Bianchi. “We will move forward alone [with out own initiatives]”.

The “Keep Racism Out” patch was one of several initiatives in the campaign which the league says is designed to “combat racism and all forms of discrimination, not just in the world of football and sports.”

According to Serie A's press release on the campaign, initiatives planned for the next two rounds of the league also include specialist ball podiums, lineout arches, replacement backboards and captain's armbands.