Italy’s sporting tribunal found no evidence Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba was racially abused by Torino’s Riccardo Meggiorini.
The incident was alleged to have occurred during a bad-tempered derby on April 28 which Juventus won 2-0.
But sporting judge Gianpaolo Tosel decided on Wednesday that while there were insults exchanged he could not be sure they were of a racist nature.
“The huge amount of evidence gathered does not allow me to make a certain judgement, beyond all reasonable doubt, regarding any racist connotations of the insult allegedly directed by Meggiorini towards Pogba,” said Tosel in the report.
“Because a judgement of blame cannot be founded on evidence which allows the hypothesis, even marginally, of an alternative possibility (the sporting judge) has decided not to adopt any sanctions.”
Tosel added that it was obvious the players had aimed insults at one another and that this continued as the game went into half-time.
But he was not 100 percent sure of “the nature of the exact words directed by Meggiorini to Pogba.”
He also stated that the referee, despite being near the alleged incident, had not heard the exact words used during the exchange due to the noisy atmosphere and other players shouting.
In the immediate aftermath of the game Meggiorini rubbished reports he had used racist language and claimed he had aimed a ‘normal insult’ at the France international.
“Pogba should not go running and crying if someone says something to him,” Meggiorini said at the time.
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