Italy striker of Ghanaian descent Mario Balotelli is beginning to show signs of his regret over his decision to play for the European country instead of the country of his biological parents.
The attacker is having one of the best seasons of his career in France where he plays for Nice yet his four-year exclusion from the Italian national team is set to extend.
Nice striker thinks he deserved a recall to the Italy squad for the friendlies with Argentina and England having scored 14 goals in 19 starts in Ligue 1 this season.
The 27-year-old was ignored by Italy coach Luigi Di Biagio despite his impressive form opting instead for youngsters Federico Chiesa and Patrick Cutrone, Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne.
Balotelli was torn between playing for Ghana or Italy but opted to play for the Europeans even though they did not show him any loyalty by giving him their passport only when he turned 18.
The striker his Italy career when he made a two-goal blast against Germany in the semi-final of Euro 2012, establishing himself as one of the key players the Europeans could rely on in future.
The first black player to represent Italy at a major international tournament spent the next two years lofting the flag of Italy high and playing 17 games for the Azzurri.
However disciplinary problems on and off the pitch ensured that his stints with Man City, Liverpool and AC Milan stalled his progress which led to his exclusion from the Italy side.
The attacker of Ghanaian descent claims he would have already been “forgiven” for his mis-demeanours and played for Italy more had he been white.
The striker, whose parents are Ghanaians yet chose to play for Italy, believes the colour of his skin has kept him out of the international scene.
“I think that if I had been white, I’d have had fewer problems. Perhaps I did cause some of my own problems and had the wrong attitude at times, but would I have been forgiven quicker?
“Absolutely yes.”
The striker says the Italian system works against black people even though he asserts that Italy is an inherently racist nation, although “it does have some racists in it.”
He said: “Even if I am Italian, born and raised in Italy, the law states I only became Italian once I reached the age of 18.
“The law is wrong and that is perhaps why to this day some people see black as the colour of diversity, of inferiority of an error in the middle of a team photograph.”
This shows that Balotelli has realized that Ghanaians would have been more accepting of him than Italy where he has been treated as a second class citizen.
Italy interim boss Di Biagio says he would continue to monitor Balotelli’s form with a view to recalling him to the national team for the first time since the 2014 World Cup after pressure mounting on the coach over the striker’s exclusion.
