Napoli and Di Lorenzo Face Fines: A Stand Against Racism

Napoli and its captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo are at risk of a fine. The club has kept its word and decided to maintain its position in the fight against racism, as announced in recent days in an official statement. In this note, the blue club has sided with its player Juan Jesus following the acquittal of Acerbi and the alleged racist insults directed at the Brazilian. "We will take independent initiatives," this is the essence of the statement from the Campanian club that today, against Atalanta, kneeled in the fight against racism before the start of the match. Napoli-Atalanta, the blue players knelt in protest against racism after the Juan Jesus case. Napoli and Di Lorenzo towards the fine: the gesture. Di Lorenzo then continued the protest by covering the captain's armband with a white string. A decision that follows Napoli's decision to remove the "Keep racism out" patch from the game jerseys. On the band that the right-back should have worn, there is precisely this writing, and so the former Empoli covered it to show his closeness to Juan Jesus. Fine for Di Lorenzo and Napoli: what the regulations say. However, this gesture will be punished with a fine by the Serie A League because the regulations prohibit personalized armbands or anyway different from the one established by the Federation, except for agreed special events. Article 72 of the Noif states that: "The Captain must wear, as a distinctive sign, an armband on the arm of a different color than the shirt, on which logos, writings, and designs related to the company and the Championship can be placed, provided they are authorized by the competent League." As for the possibility of changing the captain's armbands, then, article 11 of Serie A defines that: "In each of the matches of the competitions organized by the League, the captain must wear, as a distinctive sign, exclusively an armband provided by the same League. The League reserves the right, on special occasions, to propose the realization of celebratory captain's armbands." In the past, it was Roma's turn to be fined due to a non-regulatory captain's armband. The protagonists were Florenzi and De Rossi, with the two being fined for wearing a non-compliant armband.