Mario Balotelli walks off the field after having kicked the ball into the crowd in reaction to alleged racist abuse in Verona on Sunday (AP Photo)
Mario Balotelli kicked the ball into the crowd and threatened to walk off the field after receiving alleged racist abuse in a Serie A match on Sunday.
Scenes in Italy. Mario Balotelli, presumably in response to racist abuse from fans, picks up ball and kicks it into stands.
Here’s the aftermath.
We – football, society – need teammates/opponents to stop pleading with victims to not walk off, start walking off with them instead pic.twitter.com/wQ6rfs7j0K
— Henry Bushnell (@HenryBushnell) November 3, 2019
The Brescia striker was seen enraged by what was said to him by a section of Hellas Verona fans. Nine minutes into the second half, Balotelli suddenly picked up the ball and volleyed it into the crowd.
He then walked off the field behind the goal as play was stopped for around five minutes. Balotelli was convinced by players from both sides to stay on.
Referee Maurizio Mariani stopped the game and a message was read out over the stadium loudspeaker threatening to suspend the match for a longer period if the chants continued.
In a fitting finale, Balotelli returned to the pitch and scored the winning goal five minutes from the end of the match as Brescia won 2-1.
Astonishing: 21 minutes after Racist Abuse from opposing Verona fans caused Mario Balotelli to walk off field in protest, he returns, scores this exclamation point of a goal. In truth, game better off if all 22 players walked off at first sign of Racism pic.twitter.com/Wjf6WB0Ubc
— roger bennett (@rogbennett) November 3, 2019
Speaking after the match, the Hellas Verona coach said that there had not been any racist abuse by the fans. He said that fans had directed jeers towards Balotelli, but they were not racist in nature.
Subscriber Only Stories
This is the second time this weekend that a Serie A match has been interrupted because of offensive chants. AS Roma’s match against Napoli on Saturday was briefly halted because of discriminatory chants from the home supporters. Balotelli is one of the very few black players to have turned out for the Italian national team.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
First published on: 03-11-2019 at 11:54:36 pm
Subscribers Reading Now
Most Popular
Latest News
Salman Rushdie stabbed: Author’s arm nerve severed, liver damaged, says agent
Watch: Cheteshwar Pujara slams 22 runs in one over in Royal London One Day Cup
Rains lash several parts of Rajasthan
Drunk air hostess, friends create ruckus at restaurant in Rajasthan; arrested
72-year-old man jumps to death in front of train at metro station
Absconding kin of Rajasthan BJP MLA among two held in murder case
Faridabad: Man booked for ‘murdering’ one-month-old son
On his way to celebrate Raksha Bandhan with kin, Delhi man dies after throat slit by Chinese manjha
Cricket chases the American dream
Two held with nearly 400 fake SIM cards
Goa panchayat polls: CM Sawant claims clean sweep, says confident of 2024 victory
Author Salman Rushdie stabbed on lecture stage in New York; likely to lose an eye
