The Brescia striker was subject to abuse on Sunday and has looked to clarify what happened
Italian attacker Mario Balotelli has hit out at fans that racially abused him over the weekend, but stressed the majority of Hellas Verona fans weren’t guilty of the shocking behaviour.
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Balotelli reacted angrily to abuse aimed his way during Brescia’s 2-1 loss against Verona on Sunday and threatened to leave the game in protest.
His strong stance continued post-match with a message on social media and the former Manchester City striker continued his offensive while speaking on Italian TV.
“What happened on Sunday is not beautiful but I did not accuse Verona, I did not accuse the Verona stand. I accused a few idiots who did it, I heard them,” Balotelli told Italian show Le Iene.
“I accused those a**holes and that’s all. It wasn’t two or three, because I heard them from the pitch.
“I tell the truth, the Verona stadium and the Verona fans are also nice to me, with their banter. But if you want to distract a player, you can do it in a thousand ways. Not like this. This is not good.
“The few who have done it are d*ckheads. The racist banter was not good, it has never been good and it will never be good. They are few idiots, but they are always there.”
Verona have since been handed a one-match partial stadium closure as a result of the incident, while the club have banned ultras leader Lucas Castellini for racist comments he made in the aftermath.
“Balotelli is Italian because he has Italian citizenship, but he can never be completely Italian,” Castellini said in an interview with Radio Cafe.
“The chants came from only four people, who were only heard by the people who recorded the video. Balotelli only heard it in his own head.”
While Balotelli’s return to Italy has been overshadowed by recent racism, he has performed solidly, striking twice across six appearances for Brescia to date.
That form has seen Balotelli back himself for a national team recall as he declared his treatment in Serie A is even worse considering he is Italian.
“I’m not saying that I am different from the other players who have had the same choirs and the same howls, but the problem is that I am Italian,” he said. “I should be back on the national team.”