Insults to Balotelli: open inquiry for racial discrimination

After the racist chants against Balotelli, the Verona Prosecutor's Office, led by Angela Barbaglio, opened an investigation for racial discrimination in violation of the Mancino law. For now the accusation is against unknown but are identifying the fans who shouted insults from the south curve. The police have already filed an information in the prosecution.

Digos investigators are acquiring videos of the Bentegodi stadium in Verona and videos published on social networks, and hearing people informed about the facts. The judicial investigation runs parallel to that of the sports judge, who in the afternoon of Tuesday 5 November decided to close the east section of the Verona stadium curve for a turn.

It is not the first issue opened by the Verona prosecutor's office concerning racist demonstrations by Hellas Verona supporters. Last June the Verona prosecutors – following an article by Republic – they had started an investigation into the supporters' choirs to celebrate the promotion of the team in serious A: "We are a fantastic team, shaped like a swastika. How nice it is to train Rudolf Hess ”.

Compared to the decision of the Hellas Verona company to ban the stadium to the leader of the supporters, and Verona manager of Forza Nuova, Luca Castellini until 30 June 2030, it must be underlined that Castellini is already subjected to Daspo signed by the Quaestor for previous events during sporting events, valid until 2022, and has therefore long been out of curves.

According to the report of the prosecutor's office of the FIGC, last Sunday's chants against Mario Balotelli during Verona-Brescia have been "clearly perceived not only by the footballer, but also by the representative of the federal prosecutor's office located in the vicinity", but after these "have risen, by supporters crowded in the adjacent "south curve", choruses of support, followed by a long applause ".

But in Verona several political and religious exponents, more than against the racist choirs, threw themselves against the controversy that arose after Balotelli's reaction. Five majority municipal councilors including Andrea Bacciga – who is facing a trial for the apology of fascism for having made the Roman salute in the municipal council – have filed a motion to commit the mayor to "take legal proceedings against the player and all those who attack Verona unjustly defaming it ".And also the mayor of Verona, Federico Sboarina (present Sunday at the Bentegodi stadium) spoke of "media pillory on a fan and a city". Even the Veronese bishop Giuseppe Zenti intervened to defend a city "welcoming, inclusive, rich in voluntary associations, which does not deserve to be muddied".

The arbitration report and the report of the federal prosecutor's office on the match, interrupted on 9 'by the referee for racial discrimination chants against Balotelli, induced the judge to inflict on Verona the closing sanction for an actual day of competition with immediate effect, of that sector of the Bentegodi stadium.

A decision adopted considering, according to the official statement of the League, that "even the small number of authors of the choirs should be compared to the number of occupants in that sector". The judge considered that "the sanction can be applied only to the sector in the first place indicated" and that "the conditions for the application of the suspension measure of the execution of the sanction pursuant to art. 28 paragraph 7 CGS do not exist, also considering the duration of the interruption of the game dutifully arranged by the race director ”.

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