Montevideo (AFP) – Uruguayan prosecutors have dropped an investigation into football coach Ricardo Caruso Lombardi, who quit his club last month amid accusations he had hurled a racial slur at a referee, a judicial source told AFP on Monday.
Caruso Lombardi, a 62-year-old Argentine, allegedly used an expletive and racial slur against Javier Feres after the referee red-carded him for losing his temper when a player was sent off during a first-division match in Montevideo in May.
Hours later, the Miramar Misiones coach apologized on X, saying he was "embarrassed" about the outburst. The prosecutor's office opened an investigation into alleged incitement to hatred, and requested witnesses and video footage of the incident.
On Monday, a source told AFP the prosecutor had dropped the investigation because the alleged events "did not constitute a crime."
The Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) had "emphatically" condemned Caruso Lombardi's alleged utterances and said it would take disciplinary steps.
The Uruguayan Association of Football Referees (Audaf) demanded a punishment of "the greatest possible severity," and the Afro-Uruguayan group, Atabaque, had urged "exemplary" action.
In an interview with Radio Sport 890, Caruso Lombardi denied being racist. His lawyer Jorge Barrera said Monday the parties had come to an out-of-court agreement, of which he did not provide details.