Sheffield Wednesday footballer, 29, is acquitted of racially abusing an opposition player after judge rules rival may have misheard the striker because the ground was ‘very loud’

• Fernando Forestieri made the slur against Mansfield Town’s Krystian Pearce 
• It happened during a pre-season friendly at the One Call Stadium on July 24 
• Their heated exchange saw Forestieri call Pearce the N-word, court heard today 

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Sheffield Wednesday footballer Fernando Forestieri (pictured arriving at Mansfield Magistrates Court today) sparked a mass brawl in the middle of the pitch after racially abusing an opposition player with a ‘vile slur’, a court heard today 

Sheffield Wednesday footballer Fernando Forestieri has been acquitted of racially aggravated harassment.

The 29-year-old striker was alleged to have called Mansfield Town defender Krystian Pearce ‘a n****r’ during a pre-season friendly at the One Call Stadium on July 24 last year because he was ‘frustrated’.

A district judge at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court ruled it was possible the Mansfield captain may have misheard Forestieri, who claimed he was only insulting him in Spanish.

In a prepared statement made to police, Forestieri said he ‘swore on his son’s life’ he did not racially abuse the Barbados international, claiming he must have been mistaken.

The game, which ended in a 2-1 win for home side Mansfield, ended in a ’40-man brawl’ after Forestieri was booked for a scissor tackle on defender Hayden White just after the 80th minute.

Mr Pearce confronted Forestieri about the alleged incident after the match but he denied being racist, and apologised if the defender had ‘misheard’.

Recording a not guilty verdict on Thursday, District Judge Jonathan Taffe said: ‘It is clear that the conclusion to the game was anything but friendly, with a mass brawl breaking out which could have led to a wide scale public disorder amongst spectators.

‘I do understand why Mr Forestieri wishes to make the point that he is not a racist – his personal and professional reputation is at stake.

‘There were thousands of fans, rival fans, players and staff all shouting. This is relevant for, in my judgment, it possibly accounts for the fact that no other person, even those in close proximity, heard what was said.’

The judge added: ‘I have to accept that it is possible, albeit in my judgement unlikely, that Mr Pearce was mistaken and therefore I cannot be satisfied to a criminal standard that the word ‘n****r’ was used and I therefore find Mr Forestieri not guilty as charged.’

Opening the case against the Argentina-born forward, prosecutor Andrew Conboy said: ‘An incident took place at Mansfield Town Football Club – a designated friendly match which became rather unfriendly at the end.

‘Krystian Pearce will give evidence describing the defendant’s attitude as worsening throughout the game and about 80 minutes into the game an incident sparked a reaction from the defendant.

‘There was a heated exchange of words – Mr Forestieri was speaking mainly in Spanish but used the word ‘n*****’ and ‘s***’.’

Mr Pearce’s manager, David Flitcroft, told the court he felt he had to enter the pitch to pull the defender away from Forestieri after being informed of a ‘racist incident’ by the fourth official.

Mr Flitcroft said: ‘My gut instinct was to get on the pitch and clear him from the pitch.

‘When I went on Krystian told me what had been said. That’s when I knew I had to take him off the pitch.’

Addressing what Forestieri said in a voluntary police interview, Mr Conboy said: ‘He provided a prepared statement and gave an explanation for what he had said in Spanish.

Sheffield Wednesday striker Fernando Forestieri faces one charge of using threatening words or behaviour and another of racially aggravated harassment on July 24

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‘He initially accepted the he was abusive in Spanish but none of it would have represented any racial hostility.’

Mr Pearce insisted he was not mistaken in the witness box on Thursday.

He said: ‘I heard him say something. The sentence was in Spanish and in the middle of the sentence he used the word ‘n*****’ and at the end of the sentence he used the word ‘s***’.

‘I then reacted to what he had said and told him to repeat it, which he didn’t. I tried to notify the referee as soon as I could, I think it must have been around a minute or two later.’

Mr Pearce continued: ‘The gaffer then came on to the pitch and took me off the pitch basically. I proceeded to go down the tunnel, I think I kicked a bag of balls in frustration.’

Forestieri, 29, abused Mansfield Town defender Krystian Pearce (pictured arriving at Mansfield Magistrates Court today) during a pre-season friendly on July 24 last year, the court heard 

In the witness box, Forestieri was asked by his defence solicitor: ‘Did you at any stage call him a n*****?’

The striker replied: ‘No, I never said that, I’m not like that. I was very sad because I’m not a racist. The first rule in football is to respect your colleagues.’

In his prepared statement, Forestieri said: ‘He said to me that I needed to say sorry to him because he thought I said the ‘N’ word. He also told me if I don’t say sorry he will go to the police.

‘I said I was sorry if that’s what he thought I heard but I swore on my son’s life that that was not what he heard.’

Forestieri added: ‘I wish to confirm I am not a racist person. I never said the ‘N’ word or anything racist to Mr Pearce as he has alleged or indeed to anyone else.

‘I find the accusation deeply upsetting and very offensive.’ 

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