Mario Balotelli Will Walk off the Field (and kill!) if he is Racially Abused at Euro 2012!

Mario Balotelli, Italy and Manchester City's isoteric ace.

Enigmatic Manchester City star Mario Balotelli has warned the world that he will not tolerate racial abuse and will storm off the field and “kill” the perpetrators should he face racial abuse at the upcoming Euro 2012 championships to be held in Poland and Ukraine. 21 year old Balotelli has already endured numerous incidents of racial abuse in his career most recently in February when Porto were fined over the behaviour of their supporters in a Europa League tie against Manchester City. Balotelli also famously had to endure the abuse from fans of his home country, Italy, who frequently chanted phrases like “There is no such thing as a black Italian.”

Balotelli issued a statement amidst growing concerns that black players will be targeted by racists when the tournament kicks off:
The Manchester City ace also declared himself a misunderstood genius.

"Why always me?" ~ Balotelli plays victim after a string of self -induced on and off the field shenanigans.

I am reasonably certain Balotelli does not intend to kill anyone. I cannot assure you he won’t get violent as the 21 year old, loose cannon has more than once resorted to violence on the field sans any racist chants. All things considered, it is time FIFA and UEFA have a serious look at the rise of incidents of bigotry taking place on the field in the modern game. A governing body cannot claim to have a zero tolerance policy for racism then award major competitions to countries with documented, on field racial problems like Ukraine, in the case of Euro 2012 and Russia in the case of World Cup 2018 ~ both part of the renowned Easter European Banana Throwing Peninsular (EEBP). We have already heard reports that the families of England international players Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott will not travel to Ukraine because of fears for their safety. A country where fans make race-based threats and are known to attend games armed with Bananas should not be allowed anywhere near any major competitions.

The question here is, should a player walk off the field if bananas are thrown at him or if he hears excessive, racially motivated chants? My answer is yes, absolutely, and so should the other players. The game should not continue until the matter is resolved. Fans should get the message that if they do not act accordingly, they will not be rewarded with a game. That in turn will lead to more self-regulations as most fans would really like to get their moneys-worth and actually see a game.

Mario Balotelli training with the Italian national team.

The Football field is essentially a player’s office of employment and it should be free from bigotry and abuse of that nature. It is the employer and organizers’ responsibility to clamp down on such things and clean the game up. I have played soccer and I know that part of the disadvantage of playing away from home is the hostile environment created by away fans but certain types of abuse are not appropriate or relevant to the game. What does being black and lampooning that fact have anything to do with the actions on the field? Home fans are there to hate on the other team, celebrate their failures and get under their skin in a reasonable manner or god-forbid, support their own team.

Some say Balotelli should be the bigger man and just play on or play harder but those are often sentiments made by people who understand the theory of being racially abused but have no concept of the types of emotions such a thing can stir up. Next time you are racially abused in your workplace, just be the bigger man and put your head phones on while the black dude calls you a cracker and throws Turkey sandwiches at you. Nobody knows what Super Mario will do in the event that he is racially abused but I am more interested in what UEFA’s response will be. Suggestions are that they should consider using the full power of technology to root out and ban the wrong doers from the games but it has been hard enough to make them consider using goal line technology.

In summation, I am not trying to make every racist out there see the light and change their ways, that would be a colossal waste of my time. I just want them to keep it to themselves and let the rest of us enjoy the game in peace.

Category: Sports