Shortly after Juventus' win over Cagliari on Tuesday night, Leonardo Bonucci suggested that Moise Kean was "50-50" to blame for the racist abuse he received.
Bonucci was one of the players that came over to Kean, pulling him away as he stood and celebrated in front of the Cagliari ultras with his arms outstretched.
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In his post-match interview, the Juventus centre-back, who opened the scoring in the match, was critical of his teammate's actions:
"Kean knows that when he scores a goal, he has to focus on celebrating with his teammates. He knows he could've done something differently, too," he told Sky Sport Italia.
"There were racist jeers after the goal, Blaise heard it and was angered. I think the blame is 50-50, because Moise shouldn't have done that and the Curva should not have reacted that way.
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"We are professionals, we have to set the example and not provoke anyone."
Since he made those controversial remarks, many have supported the fact that Kean stood up to racist supporters, including Raheem Sterling and Mario Balotelli.
While many have slammed Bonucci's post-match comments.
24 hours after his outburst, the Italian defender has now issued a statement seeking to clarify his interview about the racial abuse the 19-year-old received:
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"After 24 hours I want to clarify my feelings," he said on his official Instagram
"Yesterday I was interviewed right at the end of the game, and my words have been clearly misunderstood, probably because I was too hasty in the way I expressed my thoughts.
"Hours and years wouldn't be enough to talk about this topic. I firmly condemn all forms of racism and discrimination.
"The abuses are not acceptable at all and this must not be misunderstood."
In the aftermath of the game, Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri said that there should be a lifetime ban handed down to the fans chanting racist abuse:
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"He scored another goal and did better in the second half, whereas he got more or less everything wrong in the first half," he told Sky Sport Italia.
"I didn't hear anything from the stands, as I was focused on the game. You need great intelligence to deal with these situations and should not go to provoke people. That, of course, does not mean the idiots in the crowd and the way they reacted should be justified.
"As always in life, there are idiots who do stupid things and ruin it for everyone else. I don't think talking about it all the time helps. I don't think halting play helps, because not everyone in the stadium did that."
Thoughts on the above statement?
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Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: SPORT, Football News, Football, Serie A, Moise Kean, Juventus, Italy
