Mario Balotelli has thanked everyone for their support after he was subjected to racist abuse in Verona. “You are real men, not like those who deny the evidence.”
The Brescia forward kicked the ball into the stands of the Stadio Bentegodi towards the group of fans who were repeatedly making ‘monkey noises’ at him.
He then threatened to walk off the pitch, before being convinced to stay by teammates and his Hellas Verona opponents, while the referee halted play for several minutes to ensure a warning was read out over the speaker.
Mario Balotelli has thanked everyone for their support after he was subjected to racist abuse in Verona. “You are real men, not like those who deny the evidence.”
The Brescia forward kicked the ball into the stands of the Stadio Bentegodi towards the group of fans who were repeatedly making ‘monkey noises’ at him.
He then threatened to walk off the pitch, before being convinced to stay by teammates and his Hellas Verona opponents, while the referee halted play for several minutes to ensure a warning was read out over the speaker.
“Thank you to all my colleagues on the pitch and off for the solidarity expressed and for all the messages I have received from fans. Thank you from the heart,” wrote Balotelli on Instagram.
“You proved yourselves to be real men, not like those who deny the evidence.”
Verona coach Ivan Juric and President Maurizio Setti insisted that there was no racist abuse from the stands, but there is video evidence confirming the noises were clearly heard just before he kicked the ball into the stands.
Balotelli also added a comment on Instagram to that video.
“To those ‘people’ in the Curva who made monkey noises at me… Shame on you. Shame on you. Shame on you. That you do this in front of your children, your wives, your parents, your family and friends… Shame.”