Honestly they shouldn’t punish racism if they’re not 100% sure what was said. However without evidence to prove anything against what was and wasn’t said then you are very unlikely to get this demote request accepted unless the mod admits they are in the wrong(let’s be honest not many people would do it if there word would be taken for fact with no evidence to disprove).
Tbh, I do believe you meant no ill intent however there’s not much that can be done as it’s user’s words against staff, personally it’s a