Balotelli suffer racists attack Bananas. Never support Spain

[CMS]

and some of these other Eastern block Nations are just plain dumb.. This is 2012 for crying out loud. First Spain now Croatia?

Balotelli suffers racist abuse as Spaniards aim monkey chants at Italy striker
By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 03:39 EST, 11 June 2012 | UPDATED: 04:04 EST, 11 June 2012

Mario Balotelli was racially abused during his side's Euro 2012 opener as hundreds of Spain fans made monkey noises at the Italy striker.
Just days after reports of the Holland team being on the receiving end of vile abuse during a training session in Krakow, the latest race storm has overshadowed Italy's 1-1 draw with the reigning champions.
Balotelli, who had a frustrating hour on the pitch before being substituted, threatened before the tournament to walk off if he was abused during a match.

Singled out: Mario Balotelli (right) suffered racist abuse before he was subbed as Italy drew with Spain
And shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander has advised England players to leave the field in protest if they are targeted by racists when they face France.
He said: 'I support referees taking the strongest possible action in the face of racist abuse from the terraces. They have the power to stop the game. However, if a referee ignored blatant racist abuse, and the England players or their management felt they were justified in walking off, they should be supported in their action.'
Photographer Chris Brunskill, a 35-year-old from Liverpool, witnessed the abuse in the 40,000-seater Arena Gdansk in Poland.

Frustrating: Balotelli punches the ground after failing to get the better of the Spanish defence
He said: 'I was sat behind the goal with all the Spanish fans behind me and they were involved in monkey chanting and laughter and mockery whenever Balotelli was on the ball.
'The ringleaders were two fans who were in fancy dress as Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal. But the stewards just seemed to think it was a laugh, and they did nothing. They seemed to think it was a giggle.
'These two were at the centre of it in my view but there were hundreds in the Spanish section joining in. I would say there were around 200-300 who joined in at times. It was especially bad when Balotelli was involved in any kind of trouble or altercation, for example when he was booked.'

Bad day at the office: Balotelli struggled to make his mark before he was replaced by Antonio Di Natale
Another photographer, Getty's Michael Steele from Wells, Somerset, said: 'I could not see who was involved but it was obvious they were monkey chants. It was disgusting. There is no excuse for it. I am pretty sure Balotelli knew what was going on and heard it as he was close to that section of the crowd when he was booked.
'There were also what sounded like derogatory chants in Spanish with his name involved, but I do not know what they meant.'
Greek freelance photographer Yiannis Kourtoglou, 31, who lives in Cyprus, told the Daily Mirror: 'The monkey whoops were from the Spanish end. I could not see how many people were involved but they were clear.

That's how you do it: Di Natale beats Iker Casillas for the Italians' goal
'They were designed to put him off his game and they clearly worked – he had a terrible match.
'It was terrible for him and for me as well. He is a human being not a monkey.' It is still unclear if Balotelli or the Italian bench heard the abuse but manager Cesare Prandelli previously said he would back his player in walking off.
Manchester City star Balotelli, 21, has already been singled out for abuse online with Italian neo-Nazis claiming he should not be playing for the national team.
UEFA have vowed to investigate any racism at the tournament in Poland and Ukraine and Labour's Mr Alexander insists the players should take a stand.
He added: 'If either host country's fans misbehave, the teams could be taken off by the referee with the home team forfeiting the points. 'Hopefully something like that might encourage players to challenge their supporters.'



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/euro20 ... z1xUjC4bCe






Euro 2012: Uefa investigates claims banana thrown and monkey chants during clash between Italy and Croatia

Uefa is "looking into" claims a banana was thrown on to the pitch during Italy's European Championship game against Croatia on Thursday.

Target: Mario Balotelli allegedly had monkey chants directed at him Photo: GETTY IMAGES
By Telegraph Sport3:59PM BST 15 Jun 2012
A photographer was reported to have witnessed a steward retrieving a banana in the 1-1 Euro 2012 Group C draw in Poznan as well as hearing monkey chants directed at Italy striker Mario Balotelli.
European football's governing body have confirmed they are aware of the claims, saying: "We are looking into the reports."
If yesterday's alleged banana-throwing incident was intended as an insult towards Balotelli, it would arguably represent the most serious bout of racism at a tournament that has been dogged by the problem.

A steward retrieves a banana during match between Italy and Croatia
Balotelli said before Euro 2012 that he would "kill" anyone who threw a banana at him in the street and would "not accept racism at all".

Uefa is already probing allegations of racist abuse against the Manchester City striker in Italy's opening match against Spain on Sunday.
On Monday, Italy coach Cesare Prandelli rejected claims Balotelli was abused against Spain, saying: "That's absolutely untrue."
Balotelli, 21, said he would walk off the pitch if he was racially abused by fans at Euro 2012.
Uefa is also looking into allegations Czech Republic defender Theodor Gebre Selassie was subjected to monkey chants during his side's Group A opener against Russia last Friday.
Holland players claimed they heard racist chanting during an open training session in Krakow before the tournament even began.
Meanwhile, Balotelli could lose his place in Italy's starting line-up for Monday's final Group C game against Republic of Ireland.
The striker has been substituted in both his country's games so far, and Prandelli said: "He has huge potential, but he needs to improve.
"He needs to be more ruthless and pay more attention. These are the areas he needs to improve."
Prandelli was also asked about the alleged banana-throwing incident this afternoon and said: "No, I haven't seen anything."
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) later confirmed they had been made aware of the banana-throwing claims and accompanying photograph.
But they said no-one from their delegation witnessed the incident during the game.
A spokesman saidt: "There's not any official complaint at the moment about that.
"It's not quite clear where this photograph was shot at the game and whether it [the banana] was launched against Mario Balotelli."
The FIGC has, however, written to Uefa expressing "great regret" that their national anthem was booed by groups of Spain and Croatia fans during their Euro 2012 Group C matches.
In a statement, the Italian federation confirmed vice-president Demetrio Albertini had sent a letter to Uefa general secretary Gianni Infantino to complain.
The FIGC acknowledged Italy supporters had jeered anthems in the past.

[Bigpokey24]

it doesn't surprise me.. what do you expect from spain, la liga etc.. thank goodness Italy was the better team yesterday .. spain are yet to defeat Italy in 7 games (90mins) ..

[miky]

and we they make fun of the boy performance una sef!!!

[Comrade Machel]

Thats why i was disappointed when he fluffed his chance. he should have scored to to really piss them off

[airwolex]

Spanish people.....they just can't help themselves.

[YUJAM]

His own Italian fans racially abused him. Does that mean my good bro CMS will not support Italy?

Anyway, I don't support European teams. I respect the footballing abilities of some of them but i will never support one of their teams

[lionga]

His own Italian fans racially abused him. Does that mean my good bro CMS will not support Italy?

Anyway, I don't support European teams. I respect the footballing abilities of some of them but i will never support one of their teams

Barcelona is a European team..

[Bigpokey24]

His own Italian fans racially abused him. Does that mean my good bro CMS will not support Italy?

Anyway, I don't support European teams. I respect the footballing abilities of some of them but i will never support one of their teams

lies

[Ekorian]

His own Italian fans racially abused him. Does that mean my good bro CMS will not support Italy?

Anyway, I don't support European teams. I respect the footballing abilities of some of them but i will never support one of their teams

I'm a Vegan but I like Pomo!

[kofi86]

It would be so easy to erase such things from the stadiums, yet the Uefa and the member associations don't take a hard stance against it

[Ekorian]

It would be so easy to erase such things from the stadiums, yet the Uefa and the member associations don't take a hard stance against it

Elighten us on how it could be done. Interview the 60,000 crowd in advance or man cameras for every single individual ?

[airwolex]

It would be so easy to erase such things from the stadiums, yet the Uefa and the member associations don't take a hard stance against it

Elighten us on how it could be done. Interview the 60,000 crowd in advance or man cameras for every single individual ?

Comeon, it's easy, they all but eliminated it in England. A few decades ago English fans where booing their very own John Barnes. I'm guessing if a couple of clubsides played a few seasons behind closed doors that will cure it pretty quickly. It all boils down to money; if for instance Barca fans misbehave does UEFA have the balls to throw the book at them?

[kofi86]

It would be so easy to erase such things from the stadiums, yet the Uefa and the member associations don't take a hard stance against it

Elighten us on how it could be done. Interview the 60,000 crowd in advance or man cameras for every single individual ?

In league football, punish the teams severely and their fans will stop. Easy.
And I don't know if you have been to a football stadium before, but there a lots of stewards. If a group of 200-300 people makes such noises, stewards definately will notice it. And then throws those guys out of the stadium.

[bret- hart]

Simply punish the teams whose fans make racist insults. Duck points or ban them from subsequent tournaments and viola!!! Problem solved. But no UEFA and FIFA will not take action. If its an African team, they will flex muscle. Useless corrupt organisation.

[mate]

I like to think that most Europeans aren't like this. But I agree that UEFA needs to come down harder. Plus, I honestly believe that if you that in the US, all fans of all colors would give the perpetrators a beat down.

It's high time European societies show themselves in this respect. It's ugly. Real ugly and shameful.

Cheers, Mate

PS. I don't want to nor will engage a political debate here...but this is one aspect of life that tells me that Europe is not as culturally evolved as should be.

[airwolex]

I've said it before, I kinda disagree with the notion of Black players leaving the pitch. At the end of the day they are still employees and should show loyalty to club and Country however if I were a Black superstar I'd refuse to participate in any of the sham FIFA/UEFA respect campaigns including holding kiddies hands, shaking opponents hands and any programs outside of the pitch. I'd tape that respect logo they have on jerseys in black and generally inform anybody that cares to listen that I have no wish to take part in a sham program.

It's disgusting to see that the authorities just want to pay lip service to this problem and are not really interested in tackling it head on; at the end of the day what's the use of all that rubbish when the FIFA president himself says you should just shake hands if you are racially abused?

If they are not going to take a hard stance, they won't be using me to look good for the World.

[okokobioko]

not suprised. With the likes of Xavi, iniesta, Busquets and Valdes...what do u expect?

[femibyte]

His own Italian fans racially abused him. Does that mean my good bro CMS will not support Italy?

Anyway, I don't support European teams. I respect the footballing abilities of some of them but i will never support one of their teams

Hmm, Yujam, chief La Liga shriner dey retract....

[MI5]

Total disgrace... Good for UEFA... What they have been avoiding for years is now biting them in the face....

[okokobioko]

Total disgrace... Good for UEFA... What they have been avoiding for years is now biting them in the face....

yea, you can blame UEFA all you want, but you have blacks/Africans/Nigerians who support barcelona. A team thats has players who think blacks are monekys. In fact, a member of this forum will sell his own soul, just to have a wiff of Xavi's under pants.

[ANC]

I feel for the young man. All eyes are on him, the referee's, his own fans and the opponents. I hope he has a strong support system.

[hangingfire]

It is hard to have pity on Balotelli afterall, he wants to be Itallian when he is not. Is that in itself not racism against his own race? But I respect Dude's footballing abilities. I am a fan of the outrageous one. Balo will be back.

[miky]

I feel for the young man. All eyes are on him, the referee's, his own fans and the opponents. I hope he was a strong support system.

obviously not everyone wants to chop money from him