Napoli 'stunned' after Acerbi racist probe dropped due to lack of evidence

Rome: Italian club Napoli said they were stunned after Italy s football federation (FIGC) on Tuesday dropped a probe into alleged racist comments ma...

Rome: Italian club Napoli said they were "stunned" after Italy's football federation (FIGC) on Tuesday dropped a probe into alleged racist comments made by Inter Milan's Francesco Acerbi to Napoli's Juan Jesus due to lack of evidence.

Brazil's Jesus had initially played down the incident following Napoli's 1-1 draw at Inter Milan earlier this month saying "what happens on the pitch, stays on the pitch" after accepting Acerbi's on-field apology for unspecified insults.

The FIGC said "considering that the minimum level of reasonable certainty as to the discriminatory content of the offence committed has not been reached, it was decided not to apply the sanctions".

"The discriminatory content, without calling into question the good faith (of Juan Jesus), seems to have been perceived only by the offended player, without the support of any external proof, whether audio, video or even testimony," the FIGC statement added.

Reacting to the news, Jesus' club Napoli said they were "stunned" by the FIGC's decision.