Fallout from Balotelli’s racist booking continues to unfold
Balotelli received a yellow card from referee Nicolas Rainville after gesturing to the crowd during Nice's 3-2 defeat at Dijon in Saturday's Ligue 1 contest. The former Manchester City and Liverpool forward complained that he had been targeted by racist comments.
The English anti-racism and discrimination organization released a statement, noting that it has contacted Football Against Racism in Europe in order to raise its concerns with Ligue 1 officials.
"Kick It Out was shocked to see Mario Balotelli booked for bringing to the attention of the referee alleged racist chanting directed towards him by Dijon supporters," the statement read.
"It is unacceptable and wrong to see that once again, a match official has failed to apply the UEFA protocol -- in place for a number of years -- which requires action to be taken to stop the game to deal with the offending abuse."