Brescia striker Mario Balotelli told Lazio supporters they should be ashamed of themselves after saying he had been subjected to racist abuse during a Serie A match between the two sides on Sunday.
The match was halted for a few minutes shortly after the half-hour mark and an announcement was made on the stadium’s tannoy system, while Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi wildly gesticulated to the visiting fans to stop.
Brescia confirmed to ESPN that Balotelli asked the referee to stop the match due to racist chanting.
Balotelli opened the scoring in the 18th minute but Brescia suffered a 2-1 defeat with Ciro Immobile scoring both goals.
The Italy international posted a video of his goal on Instagram after the match and wrote: “Lazio fans that were today at the stadium shame on you!”
Balotelli was also racially abused and threatened to walk off the pitch in a Serie A game against Hellas Verona last November.
There have been a number of incidents involving racist abuse in Italian football this season with Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku, AC Milan’s Franck Kessie, and Fiorentina’s Dalbert Henrique targeted from the stands but no sanctions have been handed out by the Italian league, federation or police.
