Serie A match halted after racist chants

FIFA president Sepp Blatter was appalled when he learned that AC Milan's match against Roma was suspended because of racist chanting.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter was appalled when he learned that AC Milan8217;s match against Roma was suspended because of racist chanting. Sunday8217;s game was stopped for 97 seconds during the second half when visiting Roma supporters would not stop chanting at Milan players Mario Balotelli and Kevin-Prince Boateng. The league fined Roma euro 50,000 64,865 Monday.

Appalled to read about racist abuse in Serie A last night, Blatter tweeted Monday. Tackling this issue is complex,but we8217;re committed to action,not just words, he said. Blatter added that FIFA8217;s taskforce against racism and discrimination is serious about devising a unified approach for FIFA8217;s 209 members.

Referee Gianluca Rocchi made the decision to suspend the match briefly after warnings issued over the stadium speaker system went unheeded. Roma captain Francesco Totti had also attempted to calm the fans to no avail.

Balotelli was born in Italy to Ghanaian immigrants and is the star forward of Italy8217;s national squad. Boateng was born in Germany to a German mother and a Ghanaian father and plays for Ghana8217;s national team. The match at Milan8217;s San Siro stadium ended 0-0.

Roma general director Franco Baldini contested whether the chants were racist. The boos were directed at Balotelli because he8217;s a feared player, Baldini said. The nature of the chants was not clear. And I clearly heard the Milan fans chanting romano bastardo roman bastard which is just as discriminatory, he said.

This was the first time a Serie A match was suspended due to racism. In January,Boateng famously walked off the field with his teammates after enduring racist abuse during a friendly against a fourth-tier Italian club.

Backward soccer culture

Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri condemned Italian soccer culture as backward after the incident. 8220;People should go to the stadium to see two teams battling each other on the pitch,not this sort of thing,it8217;s a place for the uncivilised,8221; he said. 8220;Above all,the culture in Italy is backward8230;.tonight we had racism,laser beams flashed in the eyes of players and an interrupted match, he said.

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Mario Balotelli was defeated this evening,he gave everything,but he is 22 and subjected more and more to racist chants and that doesn8217;t do him any good.