Juventus apologise for racist tweet

Juventus have released an apologetic statement after the women’s team’s official Twitter account published a racist tweet.

The tweet, which has, of course, since been deleted, showed one of the women’s players making an offensive eye gesture. The post was live for almost 30 minutes before it was removed following universal criticism and accusations of “blatant racism”.

Once their mistake was realised, the account then sent out an apology: “We sincerely apologise that our tweet, which was not meant to cause controversy or have any racial undertones, may have offended anyone.

“Juventus has always been against racism and discrimination,” they added the hashtag “#DifferencesMakeTheDifference”.

The offensive tweet showed Cecilia Salvai wearing a cone on her head and slanting her eyes with her fingers, which follows harmful, long-standing caricatures of people from the Far East.

Juventus are currently in Barcelona to play the Champions League winners in Sunday’s Joan Gamper Trophy, which will include a women’s game for the first time.

The Turin side, now coached by former Arsenal Women’s boss Joe Montemurro, will then return to Italy to start their bid for a fifth straight Serie A title.

Juventus’ apology

Another statement has been released by the club, this time on the official website regarding the tweet.

“We would like to express our deepest apologies for the social post that read as racially discriminatory content on the Juventus Women’s Football Twitter account yesterday.
Juventus immediately realised that the Club had committed an unforgivable mistake, and this mistake has seriously hurt the feelings of all people who oppose racial discrimination,” they opened.

“For such a mistake, the Club assumes full responsibility for the occurrence of the incident and its serious impact. Opposing racial discrimination and supporting the common development of multiple cultures are the principles that Juventus as a Club has always adhered to and continues to put into practice.

“Juventus acknowledges this mistake, and the Club will make the most profound reflection and thorough review to prevent similar things from happening again,” the statement concluded.

While the club have tried their very best to save face, it’s a terrible look considering Juventus described themselves as being “at the forefront of the fight against discrimination” earlier this year.