Mario Balotelli ‘booked for complaint over racist abuse' in Ligue 1

Mario Balotelli was booked during Nice’s 3-2 loss at Dijon for complaining about racist abuse, his French Ligue 1 club and a local newspaper have claimed.


A tweet from Nice at half-time in Saturday’s match said Balotelli had “picked up a yellow card after… getting annoyed at fans’ racist abuse”.

Balotelli booked after alerting the fourth official to the alleged abuse.

Local newspaper Nice Matin in its match report said Balotelli “eyeballed and pointed his finger” at fans and “complained of racist abuse”.

The newspaper said Dijon goalkeeper Baptiste Reynet had tried to calm down a furious Balotelli telling him he “hadn’t heard any racist chants”, to which the Italian forward replied it was coming from “two or three supporters”.

Nice Matin said Balotelli’s booking was for his reaction to the Dijon fans, after which he had “alerted the fourth official to the alleged abuse”.

It would not be the first time Balotelli, 27, has been targeted by racist abuse, in France and beyond.

Before Euro 2012, Balotelli had threatened to “walk off the pitch” if he was abused by fans in Poland or Ukraine.