Leonardo Bonucci has backtracked on suggestions his Juventus team-mate Moise Kean was partly responsible for the racist abuse he received from Cagliari supporters by insisting he was “misunderstood”.

The defender had said Kean “could have done it differently” and “the blame is 50-50”, after the 19-year-old spread his arms while facing the crowd after scoring. Bonucci had since been criticised by, among others, Raheem Sterling for saying so, but now says he was “too hasty”.

However, he wrote on Instagram: “After 24 hours I want to clarify my feelings. I was interviewed right at the end of the game, and my words have been clearly misunderstood, probably because I was too hasty in the way I expressed my thoughts.

“Hours and years wouldn’t be enough to talk about this topic. I firmly condemn all forms of racism and discrimination. The abuses are not acceptable at all and this must not be misunderstood.”

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Raheem Sterling led the condemnation of Bonucci, writing “all you can do now is laugh” on Instagram in response to his comments, which came after Juve’s teenage forward Kean was subjected to racist abuse by Cagliari fans during the Serie A game at the Sardegna Arena in which Kean scored the second goal. Lyon’s Memphis Depay echoed Sterling’s sentiments in a tweet to Bonucci that said: “I am disappointed in your reaction … We will not be quiet! #SayNoToRacism.”

Eni Aluko, who plays for Juventus’s women team, added her support for Kean, tweeting: “I choose to support my Juve counterpart not blame him. The good news is the ignorant idiots of Cagliari are going absolutely nowhere in life, whilst Kean is a rising superstar and Matuidi a World Cup winner. I also focus on that. Kean 1, Racist Cagliari idiots 0.”

After scoring, Kean – who was born in Italy to Ivorian parents and has three Italy caps – turned to the home fans and spread his arms. In response, Cagliari’s supporters made the noise which is described by Italian media as “buu” and is regarded as a racist insult in Italian football. Monkey noises could also be clearly heard among the crowd.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Raheem Sterling expressed his exasperation with Bonucci on Instagram. Photograph: Clive Rose/Getty Images

Kean posted a picture of his goal celebration on Wednesday with the caption: “The best way to respond to racism.” Mario Balotelli responded, replying: “Bravo. Bonucci is lucky that I wasn’t there. Instead of defending you he does this? I am shocked.”

Juve’s midfielder Blaise Matuidi protested to the referee and at one point appeared to threaten to walk off. The Frenchman complained last year that he was subject to racist abuse at the same stadium and Cagliari later apologised. Play was halted for around three minutes and a warning was broadcast to the crowd – the first step in the three-step procedure which ultimately leads to the teams being led off the field.

Cagliari’s president Tommaso Giulini also took a less-than-enlightened view of the incident, claiming any Juventus player would have been treated the same as Kean following his goal.

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“I don’t want people to start being self-righteous about it, because I heard that already,” Giulini said according to Football Italia, “whereas Juventus players came to me afterwards and confessed Kean was wrong to celebrate that way.

“We cannot go around calling the entire Cagliari crowd offensive things. If there were racist jeers, then our fans got it wrong, but it happened because of the celebration and would’ve happened even if the goalscorer had a different colour of skin.”

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The message came on the same evening the beIN Sports commentator Daniel Bravo was heard saying Strasbourg striker Nuno da Costa “had good statistics for a black person” during the team’s 4-0 victory over Reims in Ligue 1. The Doha-based broadcaster later issued an apology, describing Bravo’s words as ones “which could be considered offensive and go against the values advocated by the channel”.

Responding on Twitter, Da Costa played down the incident, posting a photograph of himself with Bravo with the message: “No worries, a slip happens! He works too hard!”