Euro 2012 : Racist target Mario Balotelli

As there has ever been a recent international football competition that has been marred by so much racism?

Last night Mario Balotelli, the Italian forward, was subject to a torrid of monkey chants from Spanish supporters.

Michael Steele from Wells, Somerset who was there said:

I could not see who was involved but it was obvious there were monkey chants. It was disgusting. There is no excuse for it. I am pretty sure Balotelli knew what was going on and heard it as he was close to that section of the crowd when he was booked. There were also what sounded like derogatory chants in Spanish with his name involved, but I do not know what they meant.

Even before the tournament started, Dutch players were subjected to racist taunts by Ukraine locals during a warm up session.

England’s own preparations have clearly been unsettled by the knowledge that one of the best defenders in the world Rio Ferdinand has been left out because of the England manager’s inability to confront the tension between Ferdinand and John Terry over the ongoing racist court case between Terry and Rio Ferdinand’s brother Anton.

Instead of being a show case for European football, this championship has highlighted deep seated levels of European racism which many countries are in denial that it even exists, much less have the political will to do something about it.

Simon Woolley