Chievo Verona of Italy midfielder, Joel Chukwuma Obi is reeling in a dark cloud of controversy, following reports that he was racially abused by one of the players of his club’s Italian Serie B opponents, Pisa, but they issued a quick denial.
Megasportsarena.com gathered that, while The Flying Donkeys alleged that Obi was a victim of racist outbursts by a player in the opposing team during an Italian second division league game that ended in a 2-2 draw, Pisa have strongly denied the accusations.
A verbal row has now erupted between both clubs, after Chievo alleged that Obi was the victim of a racist insult from an opponent during the league match against Pisa on Tuesday, but the other club and the accused player both denied any wrong doing.
Chievo Verona said in a statement that Obi was “the object of a shameful and slanderous phrase that has nothing to do with the most basic and elementary values of sport, ethics and respect;” adding that Pisa’s Michele Marconi used the phrase “the revolt of the slaves” towards the Nigerian star at a point during the first half.
Though Pisa insist there was nothing like racism during the mach under review, Verona are standing by their statement about an attack on Obi, who has previously played for THREE OTHER Italian clubs – Inter Milan, AC Parma and AS Torino.
The club’s stated: “Chievo Verona condemns and strongly stigmatises the racist behaviour that Joel Obi was subjected to and regrets the fact that a phrase which was heard by other people on the pitch was not followed by any disciplinary action by the referee, the assistant, the fourth official or the FIGC prosecutor.”
However, in a quick reaction and rebuttal, Pisa distanced themselves from Chievo’s statement and stressed that the alleged insult that was said to have been thrown at Obi was not detected match officials or any microphone around the pitch during the mach.
The Serie B side submitted: “Pisa Sporting Club has always been active in social fields and collaborated with integration projects in aid of groups that are most in need, following the example set by our fan base which is known all over Italy because of its charitable initiatives and stance in the fight against racism.
“For these reasons, Pisa Sporting Club does not accept lessons on behaviour from anyone. Our player has also confirmed that he did not make any offensive remarks to the opposition player, let alone in a racist context.”
