Mario Balotelli’s return to Serie A triggers renewed racism debate

“Super Mario” is back playing in Serie A and, as usual, he’s been at the center of what’s happening both on and off the field.

Mario Balotelli is back playing in Italy after three years in France with Nice and Olympique Marseilles. The striker moved to recently-promoted Serie A side Brescia over the summer for a fresh start in his home country.

After a quiet start to the season, in the span of just a few weeks, the 29-year-old Balotelli, a player not immune to controversy, is now at the center of one of Serie A’s biggest storylines to date.

He’s scoring goals, and that’s a good thing. He’s also been the target of racist fans, something that has plagued Italy and much of Europe in high-profile incidents over the past few weeks.

Balotelli – who famously asked “why always me?” –  is getting attention he doesn’t want, and for once it’s also not something he has caused. It’s a situation that shows why a player like Balotelli should be respected and why Italian authorities, both sporting and civil, need to do more to stop these so-called fans.

Balotelli was targeted by Verona fans last week during Brescia’s 2-1 defeat. Video showed how Verona supporters waited for Balotelli to get the ball before hurling monkey sounds in his direction. Balotelli, understandably consumed with anger and frustration, kicked the ball in their direction as the incident reached a crescendo in the 55th minute.

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He then attempted to leave the match (he was yellow-carded by the referee) before the players calmed him down.

It was another mark against Italian fans this season, some of whom have targeted several other black players, including Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku.

Visibly upset, Balotelli later responded with a magnificent goal, his second of the season.

The situation grew worse after the final whistle when the Verona coach Ivan Juric denied any racist abuse had taken place.

“I’m not afraid to say that nothing happened,” he told reporters. “There was loud whistling and mockery, but no racist chant. There was nothing… Unfortunately that is the tendency in Italy, but today there was nothing.”

Luca Castellini, who heads the Verona supporters section that directed the chants at Balotelli, added some anti-immigrant xenophobia in his defense of the fans.

“Balotelli is Italian because he has Italian citizenship, but he’ll never be fully Italian,” Castellini said following the incident.

Making matters worse, Brescia’s own fans went after Balotelli as the week wore on, calling him out as “arrogant.”

Balotelli returned to his native Italy (he was born in Palermo to Ghanaian immigrants and adopted by an Italian family) full of hope, something temporarily shattered by abusive fans and those who denied the incident had even taken place.

Balotelli has suffered racism in the past, even though he has played and starred for Italy at the senior level. His emotional embrace with his adopted mother, after he led Italy to a victory against Germany in the semifinals of the 2012 European Championship, may very well be the most-tender moment of his very controversial career.

While true that Balotelli has a history of antics, some as recent as this summer, the talented forward is at Brescia to start anew in Italy. In this moment he had no choice but to make a big deal regarding the racist jeers and taunts after league officials have done so poorly in curbing such obscene behavior.

‘You can’t delete racism. It’s like a cigarette. You can’t stop smoking if you don’t want to, and you can’t stop racism if people don’t want to,” Balotelli told Sports Illustrated during an interview six years ago.

For now, Balotelli can respond with his voice, but mostly his feet. His goals will not only help a Brescia side in need of them, but it may also silence these ignorant fans who unfortunately are sullying the reputation of Serie A. There may be some who have disliked Balotelli previously, but his ability to be outspoken may finally serve him well this season.