Napoli players took the knee, while the entire crowd shouted ‘no to racism’ as part of a series of initiatives following the decision not to charge Francesco Acerbi for alleged racist comments towards Juan Jesus.
The game with Atalanta kicked off at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona at 11.30 GMT.
The last couple of weeks have been dominated by the controversy over alleged racist remarks made by Inter defender Acerbi towards Juan Jesus and the decision from the FIGC to clear him over a lack of evidence, despite noting the Brazilian was “in good faith” when making the accusation.
As a response, Napoli announced they would not adhere to the ‘official’ Lega Serie A anti-racism campaign, so scrap the ‘Keep Racism Out’ patch that other teams wear on their jersey this weekend.
Instead, they set up their own campaign, with a video on social media, then today before kick-off speaker Decibel Bellini, actor Marco D’Amore and Under-15 Napoli player Mane Seik read out a message.
It concluded with: “This is no time for indifference, Napoli make your voice heard, NO to Racism” – the last part shouted by the whole crowd at the Stadio Maradona.
Director of sport Mauro Meluso spoke to DAZN before the match.
“The club is no longer participating in the institutional initiatives over racism, we do it privately, because we were let down by the Juan Jesus situation. At times in life, just apologising would be enough…”
Napoli players then ‘took the knee’ during the Lega Serie A anthem, a pointed response to the authorities.
Taking the knee became a powerful anti-racism symbol during the Black Lives Matter protests and became a regular occurrence ahead of Premier League games last season.
Only one of the last 17 Serie A meetings between these two clubs was a draw, a 2-2 thriller in October 2019, along with 10 Napoli victories and six for La Dea.
We believe in a world where equality and respect are not just empty illusions but concrete and universally recognised principles.
For this to happen, we mustn't stay silent. Tomorrow is the right chance to raise our voices and say NO to racism#notoracism #voicesbreakingsilence pic.twitter.com/IXtlNqEek6
— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) March 29, 2024
Neapolitan actor Marco D’Amico leads Napoli’s stand against racism. The club then pointedly play Bob Dylan’s “Hurricane”, a famous miscarriage of justice involving black boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter pic.twitter.com/KbeBoM7cfb
— Patrick Kendrick (@patrickendrick) March 30, 2024
Il Maradona appoggia Juan Jesus 🏟️
L’iniziativa contro il razzismo nel prepartita di #NapoliAtalanta ⛔️#DAZN pic.twitter.com/Hc0XSHLsNj— DAZN Italia (@DAZN_IT) March 30, 2024
Go woke, lose 3 points to Atalanta
How long are they going to milk this ridiculous manufactured “controversy”?
A nice knee and loss at the same time. Go Napoli Go! LOL
Sounds like they took an L twice.
Pathetic! Virtue signalling cringe!