Pep Guardiola reacts to Mario Balotelli being racially abused during the match
Balotelli racially abused: Pep Guardiola discussed the horrible incident involving Brescia star Mario Balotelli during their Serie A fixture. On Sunday, few fans at Verona resorted to racial abuse which irked the former Manchester City striker in the early minutes of the second half.
A frustrated Balotelli kicked the ball into the crowd and threatened to walk off the pitch. He was later convinced to stay on by his teammates and the players from the rival team, Hellas Verona.
The incident was brought up in the press conference where Guardiola was addressing the media. When asked to comment on the demeaning chants by ‘fans’, Guardiola said that it will be wrong on his part to say anything without complete knowledge. However, he admitted that racism has no place in football but fans all over Europe participate in the act.
Talking about the entire controversy that clouded Serie A, Guardiola said, “I can’t comment on the Napoli situation because I don’t know the ins and outs. As for Balotelli, unfortunately, these things happen a lot and the victim ends up becoming the guilty party but this goes on all over the world and Europe.”
He then asserted that these things need to be taught at home and at school. The City manager believes that racism extends beyond football and needs to be discussed in each household to form a better society. “I hope we can continue to battle this at home and in schools because it is not unique to football”, concluded the Spaniard.
This was not the first racist incident Mario Balotelli has been involved in. The Italian has been the subject of some sickening chants and behaviour from the fans in the stadium around Europe.
Shakhtar Donetsk’s Taison was also the subject of some racist chants overt the weekend and he too reacted by kicking the ball towards those racists. He was shockingly sent off by the referee as he had shown the middle finger to the racists as well.
