This archive report was first published on 3 November 2019.
Italian football has a long-standing issue with racism, and on Sunday, Mario Balotelli became the latest victim. The former AC Milan and Manchester City striker was subjected to racist abuse by Hellas Verona fans before scoring for Brescia in their 2-1 Serie A defeat.
With his side a goal down to Eddie Salcedo's powerful header, Balotelli, who has been a frequent target for racist chants during his three spells playing in his home country, booted the ball into the crowd after around an hour and charged towards Verona fans.
Pointing towards his ears, Balotelli then tried to leave the pitch, only to be stopped by his teammates and Verona players, some of whom hugged him. The match was suspended for a few minutes before a message was read out over the stadium loudspeaker threatening both teams would all leave the field if there was a repeat of any abuse.
Henry Bushnell, a sports journalist, tweeted, 'We - football, society – need teammates/opponents to stop pleading with victims to not walk off, start walking off with them instead.' Bushnell's tweet was in response to the incident and the need for a change in how teams and players respond to racist abuse.
The message was whistled loudly by a large number of the home fans, who have a notorious reputation in Italy for hard-right politics and open racism. With the game back underway, Matteo Pessina doubled the hosts' lead when he squeezed home a neat finish with nine minutes left before Balotelli pulled one back with a superb curling long-range effort.
