TV firm says it wasn’t an employee who racially insulted Juve’s Medhi Benatia

Rome: Italy’s national broadcasting company has denied that one of its employees made a racist insult toward Juventus defender Medhi Benatia.

Benatia was being interviewed on a Rai television show after Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Torino and the Morocco international was connected to the studio through an earpiece when he heard the insult.

Rai released a statement on Sunday saying it is “sincerely sorry for the deplorable incident of racism” but having looked into the matter “can exclude that the unacceptable phrase was uttered by a dependent of the company.”

It adds “the investigation will continue.”

The insult was not broadcast but Benatia heard it and asked “who said that? I heard someone talking in the background. They insulted me.”

The Rai presenter then cut short the interview because of “technical difficulties.”