Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Mario Balotelli ready to 'kill' racists at Euro 2012

 

Wednesday 30 May 2012 17:48 BST
Comments
Balotelli: "Racism is unacceptable to me, I cannot bear it"
Balotelli: "Racism is unacceptable to me, I cannot bear it"

Mario Balotelli intends to walk off the pitch if he is racially abused at Euro 2012 - and has claimed he would kill anyone who threw a banana at him in the street.

The Manchester City and Italy striker was speaking after a Panorama programme raised fears of potential racism at the tournament in Ukraine and Poland.

In an interview with France Football quoted by The Sun, Balotelli said: "If someone throws a banana at me in the street, I will go to prison because I will kill him.

"Racism is unacceptable to me, I cannot bear it.

"I hope there will not be a problem at the Euros because if it does happen I would straight away leave the pitch and go home.

"We are in 2012, it can't happen."

The 21-year-old was regularly a target of racist abuse while playing in Italy.

Balotelli also said he believes he is a genius and smarter than most people.

"I think I am a genius, but not a rebel," he said. "I have my life, my world, I do what I want, without annoying anyone.

"I believe I am more intelligent than the average person.

"The talent God gave me is beautiful and wonderful, but it is difficult because you are always facing other people keen to judge you.

"There are few people with such talent, so there are few able to judge what I am doing."

PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in