Cagliari have responded with "surprise and deep disappointment" after Udinese accused one of their players of directing racist abuse at Keinan Davis, insisting there is "no objective evidence" to support the claim.

The controversy unfolded in the dying moments of Udinese's 2-0 win at the Unipol Domus, just minutes after Davis had alerted the referee to racist insults allegedly coming from the stands. While neither club has officially named the player involved, both Cagliari coach Fabio Pisacane and Davis himself have pointed to defender Alberto Dossena as the accused.

In a strongly worded statement, Cagliari doubled down on their stance: "The Club reiterates in the strongest possible terms that its values, history and sporting culture leave no room for any form of discrimination, racism or violence, whether verbal or physical. Any conduct contrary to respect for the individual and the principles of sport must always be condemned in the clearest possible manner."

The club added that the matter was "addressed and clarified after the match, with full regard for the facts," and that the alleged incident "found no objective evidence or substantiation."

Davis, however, was unequivocal in his accusation, even tagging Dossena in an Instagram Stories post with the message: "Th..." (the post was cut off, but the intent was clear). The Udinese forward was visibly furious at the final whistle, with images showing heated exchanges between the teams on the pitch.

The stakes are high: if found guilty of racist abuse toward an opponent, Dossena faces a potential 10-match Serie A ban. But with no video evidence or corroborating witnesses yet emerging, the case hangs in the balance. For now, it's a clash of words—and convictions—between two clubs with very different versions of what happened in those final, fiery minutes.