It really is up to the victim but if the players are not willing to admit guilt and try to blame it on a claimed racial slur, they should go down for the crime.
No doubt they did it. Regardless, they will go down for that.
Why is the question. Why would they risk it. It was either a really stupid decision on their part or they were told to do it by someone. The latter seems more likely to me.
As for racial slurs, I don’t think that was the real reason but a weak attempt to justify their actions while protecting someone else.