Mario Balotelli reacts angrily after racist abuse

Mario Balotelli reacts angrily after racist abuse, kicks ball towards Verona fans and tried to leave the pitch.

Mario Balotelli kicked the ball at the home fans who subjected him to racist abuse during Berescia's Serie A match away at Verona on Sunday.

The former Man City and Liverpool forward had to be pacified and convinced to continue playing by his teammates and opponents as he was about to leave the pitch angrily during the second half of the match.

Play had to be stopped by Referee Maurizio Mariani in the 54th minute and a statement was read out loud at the Stadium by the Public announcement system threatening to suspend the game if the racist abuse did not stop.

The referee booked Balotelli for his reaction but later changed his decision due to the tension inside the stadium.

The striker later scores Brescia's only goal of the match in the 85th minute, but the goal was only a consolation for the visitors as Verona held on for a 2-1 victory.

After the game Balotelli posted this on his instagram page.

View this post on Instagram

Grazie a tutti i colleghi in campo e non per la solidarietà avuta nei miei confronti e a tutti i messaggi ricevuti da voi tifosi.. grazie di cuore.Avete dimostrato di essere veri uomini non come chi nega l’evidenza . #notoracism✊🏾✊🏾 #forzabrescia⚪️🔵🦁 #testaallaprossimapartita #noinonciarrendiamo

A post shared by Mario Balotelli🇮🇹👨‍👧‍👦🦁 (@mb459) on Nov 3, 2019 at 12:51pm PST

"Thank you to every colleague, on the pitch and out, for the solidarity towards me and for all the messages received from you fans, A heartfelt thank you. You proved to be real men, not like who denied the obvious. #notoracism"

According to Sky sports, Verona manager Ivan Juric said there were no racist abuse towards Balotelli.

"I'm not afraid to say it, there was nothing today, no racist boos," Juric told Sky in Italy after the game. "There were a lot of whistles and a lot of stick towards a great player, but today there was absolutely nothing racist.

"I've often been called a 'gypsy', the whole country is going towards this direction, but there was nothing today. Why did Balotelli react like that? You'll need to ask him, I've only heard stick but nothing more.

"I am disgusted by racist chants and I am the first to condemn them, but I've only heard stick today. Let's not talk about racism because it's a lie, let's not create a case when there is none."