OGC Nice striker Mario Balotelli has accused Bastia football (soccer) fans in France of shouting monkey noises at him during a recent match, according to Aljazeera. Balotelli is a black man born in Italy to Ghanian immigrants.
The OGC Nice star took to Instagram to voice his displeasure with the incident, saying:
Is it normal that Bastia [football team] supporters make monkey noise [and] ‘uh’ ‘uh’ for the whole game and no one of the ‘commissions discipline’ say nothing?
Also adding:
So is racism legal in France? Or only in Bastia? Football is an amazing sport. Those people like Bastia supporters make it horrible!
This is terrible behavior from the Bastia fans, and completely unacceptable. Not the first time Super Mario has heard racist chants. So it’s not surprising. Football is the most popular sport in the world and its fans (read: fanatics) tend to be among the most rowdy, and overzealous. Nothing brings out the seedy underbelly of human nature like a sporting event.
Sports are a microcosm of society. While there should be appreciation for a great game, and affinity for mutual love of sport, it’s all too easy to revert to an us vs. them mentality. A dangerous, but always predictable, outcome.