receiving end of yet more racist
abuse on Sunday after a jokey
reference to Manchester United's
shock defeat by Leicester sparked
a flurry of invective on social media.
Police later confirmed they were looking into the
abuse that had come the Liverpool striker's way,
with a Merseyside Police statement saying: "We
can confirm officers are looking into offensive
comments made on Twitter about Mario Balotelli
earlier today (Sunday)."
Asked if they were investigating formally, a force
spokesman replied "yes, we are", adding: "As far as
I am aware there have been no complaints but we
have been made aware of it by a number of press
enquiries."
Sunday saw Leicester come from 3-1 down to beat
Manchester United, Liverpool's arch-rivals, 5-3 in
a stunning match at the King Power Stadium.
Italy forward Balotelli, whose first spell in English
football was with reigning Premier League
champions Manchester City, responded to the
remarkable result by tweeting "Man Utd...LOL
(Laugh Out Loud)".
But the black forward, the son of immigrants from
Ghana but fostered by the white, Italian Balotelli
family in his formative years, saw his comment met
by several racist messages.
Balotelli, a member of the Liverpool side that lost
3-1 to West Ham on Saturday, has been a victim of
racist abuse in the past.
He was jeered by Italy supporters during a pre-
World Cup training camp in May and was on the
receiving end of numerous racial taunts during his
time at Internazionale and, more recently, AC Milan.
Balotelli spoke about the abuse that had come his
way in an interview with GQ magazine in July.
"They aren't used to seeing people who are
different, not white, who act not as rebels but
normally," he said.
"I think what the ignorant people don't like is that
people who are different are allowed to act that way.
"These stupid people, they get angry with me, they
say horrible things, but I haven't done anything
different from other people.
"I have made mistakes, like everyone does, and I
have always paid for my mistakes. I think that if I
was white maybe some people would still find me
irritating or annoying but it wouldn't be the same.
Absolutely not.
"Jealousy is a horrible thing, but when this jealousy
is towards people who are different from the
majority, and who maybe also have more than you,
then it becomes anger, it becomes rage, and that's
the overt racism."
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