A Hellas Verona fan who racially abused Brescia striker Mario Balotelli has been given a five-year ban from all sporting events.
The incident occurred during a Serie A game at the Stadio Bentegodi, when Balotelli kicked the ball into the stands at the precise area where the offensive chants were coming from.
Verona insisted nobody had heard these racist ‘monkey noises’, only for a Verona fan in the crowd to upload a video to social media where they were clearly audible.
A Hellas Verona fan who racially abused Brescia striker Mario Balotelli has been given a five-year ban from all sporting events.
The incident occurred during a Serie A game at the Stadio Bentegodi, when Balotelli kicked the ball into the stands at the precise area where the offensive chants were coming from.
Verona insisted nobody had heard these racist ‘monkey noises’, only for a Verona fan in the crowd to upload a video to social media where they were clearly audible.
That footage was used to identify one of the supporters, a 38-year-old man who was visiting Verona from Agrigento, Sicily.
He has now been given a DASPO – Italian version of an ASBO – which bans him from attending any sporting event in Italy or the European Union for the next five years.
While this is certainly progress, the fact remains he was only identified and brought to justice because fans uploaded their own video.
The use of surveillance cameras and stewards to identify fans has still not proved effective.