Spectators witnessed an ugly incident during Sunday’s Serie A match between Verona and Brescia as Italian forward Mario Balotelli was allegedly subjected to racist chants by the home crowd at the Marcantonio Bentegodi stadium.
In the 54th minute of the game which Verona won 2-1, Balotelli got fumed by the alleged racist chants from the Verona fans and kicked the ball into the crowd. After this, the former Liverpool forward was storming off the field when players from both the teams consoled him and stopped him from leaving the ground.
See the video:
Mario Balotelli kicks the ball into the stand and attempts to walk off the pitch.
If all 22 players walk out of the pitch every weekend, I guess this racist chants in football grounds will be eliminated.
This is terrible to watch and my heart goes to Balotelli.#SayNoToRacism pic.twitter.com/cKTwUGzI8N
— Lawrence Evra Okoro (@LawrenceokoroNg) November 3, 2019
After the match, the Brescia striker took to social media to thank his fans for backing him and called them the “real men”.
“Thanks to all the colleagues on and off the field for the solidarity expressed toward me and all of the messages received from you fans,” Balotelli wrote in a message on Instagram alongside a video of the incident.
“A heartfelt thanks. You’ve shown yourself to be real men, not like those who deny the evidence,” he added.
Notably, after the incident, the referee brought play to a halt before following protocol, with a statement read out to the crowd that further abuse would lead to the game being abandoned.
After the incident, Balotelli scored a sensational goal in the 85th minute, but the 29-year-old forward failed to win the game for his side, who kept trailing 1-2 even after the goal.
Riding on goals from Eddie Salcedo in the 50th minute and Matteo Pessina in the 81st minute, Verona eased past Brescia with a 2-1 scoreline.