Fans of AC Roma were warned in the second half of Roma's match with AC Milan Sunday that if racist chants hurled at Mario Balotelli continued the remainder of the game would be cancelled, according to reports.
Despite the warning, fans continued to jeer Balotelli and the match was suspended 0-0. Previous to the warning, the game was halted for several minutes in the second half as the racist taunts poured down, in what was another black eye for a sport dealing with an increasing racism issue.
AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri said, "People should go to the stadium to see two teams battling each other on the pitch, not this sort of thing, it's a place for the uncivilised," to the team's website. "Stopping the game doesn't work, it's a happy medium and like all happy mediums, it doesn't do anybody any good. Above all, the culture in Italy is backward - tonight we had racism, laser beams flashed in the eyes of players and an interrupted match. In my opinion, there's only one solution to racism in stadium and that's to suspend the match."
AC Milan dealt with racism earlier in the season as well, according to ESPN. In January Kevin Prince-Boateng was taunted during a friendly with Pro Patia and had to leave the match. Earlier this month, largely because of his experience dealing with racism from opposing crowds, Prince-Boateng was named to FIFA's anti-racism task force along with Jozy Altidore, which was formed to combat this exact type of occurrence.
While a task force is in place and stronger consequences are under consideration to punish teams racist fanbases cheer for, Allegri had his own solution at the ready. "To get rid of this stuff in our stadiums, you have to make big decisions. It could penalize some people but in the long run it would help us to grow as a nation and become more civilized."
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