Bonucci not standing by his player in racist incident

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akamoke
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Bonucci not standing by his player in racist incident

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As a fellow Italian , I am disappointed but not shocked by Bonucci's initial remarks, Stay Strong Moise

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/20 ... -cagliari/


Leonardo Bonucci backtracks on suggestions Moise Kean was '50-50' to blame for racist abuse from fans

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Moise Kean celebrates scoring for Juventus
19-year-old Moise Kean was subjected to racist abuse throughout the match Credit: Getty images

Tom Morgan, Sports News Correspondent

3 April 2019 • 11:34pm

Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci has backtracked on suggestions his team-mate Moise Kean was partly responsible for the racist abuse he received from Cagliari supporters following a Europe-wide backlash.

England winger Raheem Sterling and anti-discrimination campaigners expressed dismay at Bonucci, who last night claims his remarks had been “misunderstood.”.

Cagliari’s supporters made monkey noises during the Serie A match and reportedly screamed “buu”, which is regarded as a racist insult in Italian football, but ­Bonucci said Kean, 19, who spread his arms while facing the crowd after scoring Juve’s second goal in Tuesday’s 2-0 win, “could have done it differently” and “the blame is 50-50”. Last night Bonucci rowed back, saying: “I was interviewed right at the end of the game, and my words have been clearly misunderstood.”

But the damage had been done. Kick It Out launched a blistering ­attack on the Italian Football Federation, saying there had been a “clear failure in process” and the game should have been abandoned. Sterling, Yaya Toure and Jason Roberts were taken aback most by Bonucci’s earlier response.

Sterling, 24, wrote on social ­media “all you can do is laugh” while Roberts, the former Blackburn and Wigan striker, said the statement was “deeply troubling”.
Raheem Sterling's Instagram story
Raheem Sterling posted this message on his Instagram Credit: Instagram: sterling7

Roberts, now Concacaf’s director of development, drew comparisons with the abuse suffered by his uncle, Cyrille Regis.

“I think it’s deeply troubling when you see a young player having to endure what was thrown at him,” he said. “What was stark was the reaction of some opposition players and his team-mates, as if he had done something wrong.”
juventus' Leonardo Bonucci celebrates scoring their first goal with Miralem Pjanic and Moise Kean
Bonucci (centre) had scored Juventus's first goal Credit: reuters

Toure, who was speaking at Uefa’s Equal Game conference at Wembley, said: “I want to see what the Italian FA is going to do. I want a response.”

Massimiliano Allegri, the Juventus manager, said the forward Kean “shouldn’t have celebrated in that manner”, but later called on the ­authorities to act. Cristina Blasetti, who works with the IFF, later ­responded, telling the Wembley ­audience: “We are very sorry for what happened last night. We are doing our best to tackle this issue.”

After the abuse was heard against Kean, Juve’s midfielder Blaise ­Matuidi protested furiously to the referee and, at one point, appeared to threaten to walk off. The French player complained last year that he was subject to racist abuse at the same stadium and Cagliari later apologised.

Kick It Out said in a statement: “This is the third year in a row that black players have been racially abused at Cagliari – Blaise Matuidi and Sulley Muntari have faced the same treatment – and yet the Italian FA allow it to continue.”
For my sceptical Nigerian Friends : Pessimism is great because you are either always right or pleasantly surprised.

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