Chievo Verona of Italy midfielder, Joel Chukwuma Obi has gained a comforting round of justice outside the pitch, following reports that an opponent who racial abused him during a recent Italian Serie B match has been punished for his actions.
Megasportsaena.com gathered that the report out of the Land of The Azzurri reveals that the man who racial attacked Obi, Pisa’s Michele Marconi has been handed a 10-match ban for the incident that took place during Chievo’s 2-2 draw with The Black & Blues in December.
This marks a turnaround of Obi’s fears, as Pisa had claimed the incident was never detected and disclosed that Marconi vowed that he was never involved in such an ignoble act, adding: “Moreover, our player confirmed that he had not addressed any insults to the opposing player, let alone racially motivated ones.”
However, those words, did not hold water, and relief has now come for Obi, who has been with Chievo since the summer of 2018 when he joined The Flying Donkeys from AS Torino and has been impressing for the Yellow and Blues.
The case was heard at the Italian Football Federation appeals court and Marconi was found guilty and punished by the FIGC, to soothe the feelings of Obi, who has made 29 appearances across all competitions for Luca D’Angelo’s side, with four goals and one assist to his name.
Chievo, who are currently enduring a difficult time after failing to secure victory in their last four games, including suffering a defeat to Venezia, backed Obi all the way over the racism allegations.
The Verona-based side made a statement after the match in December, detailing how the Nigerian former international had been subjected to racial abuse by Marconi, stating at that time: “[Obi was] the object of an infamous and disgraceful phrase that has nothing to do with the most basic values of sport, ethics and respect.”
Their complaint has now been upheld by the FIGC, which stated: “Following the complaint of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the Federal Court of Appeal ordered the disqualification for 10 days of the Pisa player Michele Marconi.
“The striker had addressed racist insults to Chievo midfielder Joel Obi last December 22, during the Pisa-Chievo match.”
