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'Verona racism all in Balotelli's head'

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'Verona racism all in Balotelli's head'

The head of Verona ultras claims the racial abuse suffered by Mario Balotelli was all “in his head”, repeatedly referring to the Brescia striker as a ‘n***o’.

Verona staunchly denied Balotelli was subjected to discriminatory treatment during their 2-1 win against Brescia, and Luca Castellini towed the party line, describing his fellow fans’ treatment of the Italian as merely “folklore”.

“We have a cultural identity of a certain kind,” he told Radio Café.

“We’re an irreverent fan base, who make fun of bald players, ones with long hair, southern players and the ones of colour, but we don’t do it with political or racist instincts.

“It’s folklore, there’s nothing more to it than that.

“Like against Milan two years ago, we celebrated and clapped for Mario. Indeed, the referee, when Balotelli threw the ball, didn’t even realise why.

“You should all wait for the decision of the FIGC judge. You’ll see that Verona’s curva won’t be punished.

“The chants came from only four people, who were only heard by the people who recorded the video. Balotelli only heard it in his own head.”

Castellini did not stop there, going on to brand the 29-year-old “never completely Italian” due to his Ghanaian lineage, while calling him a ‘n***’.

“Balotelli’s Italian because he has Italian citizenship, but he can never be completely Italian.

“We also have a n***o in the team who scored yesterday, and all the Verona fans applauded him.

“Are there any problems with saying the word n***o? Will the Segre commission [for anti-hate speech] come for me because I called someone a n***o? Will they knock on my door?”

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