Mario Balotelli was booked during Nice’s 3-2 loss at Dijon for complaining about racist abuse, his French Ligue 1 club and a local newspaper have claimed. A tweet from Nice at half-time in Saturday’s match said Balotelli had “picked up a yellow card after… getting annoyed at fans’ racist abuse”. Local newspaper Nice Matin in its match report said Balotelli “eyeballed and pointed his finger” at fans and “complained of racist abuse”. It would not be the first time Balotelli, 27, has been targeted by racist abuse, in France and beyond. The Croatian Football Federation was fined during that tournament for racist abuse by fans directed at Balotelli, while UEFA also investigated Spain following their match with Italy.

Source: Punch February 11, 2018 14:03 UTC