Brescia striker Mario Balotelli threatened to walk off the pitch after receiving racist abuse from Hellas Verona fans during the teams’ Serie A meeting on Sunday, but was convinced to stay on by his teammates and opposition players.
The referee Maurizio Mariani stopped the game for around four minutes and a message was read out over the stadium loudspeaker threatening to suspend the match for a longer period if the chants continued.
Verona coach Ivan Juric denied hearing anything offensive from the stands, telling Sky Sport Italia: 'I am not afraid to say there were no racist chants today.'
The game finished in a 2-1 victory for Verona, but Balotelli made his mark by scoring a superb strike with five minutes to goMario Balotelli hits out at Verona fans after suffering racist abuse