The Italian-born of Ghanaian descent believes he has been constantly overlooked by the Italy national team handlers because of his skin colour and race
Nice striker Mario ‘Bawuah’ Balotelli has insisted that he hasn’t featured for Italy national team since 2014 because of his skin colour, race and previous controversies which surrounded his career.
The former Manchester City and Liverpool forward has been in a blistering form in France this season, scoring 22 goals in all competitions but he is yet to feature for the Azurris after the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil.
And he believes if he was born white, probably he wouldn’t have faced certain issues no matter how difficult he had proved in the past.
“In some stadiums, people chanted ‘There are no black Italians’ at me, yet I am the proof that there are,” he told So Foot in France.
“Even if I am Italian, born and raised in Italy, the law states I only became Italian once I reached the age of 18.
“The law is wrong and that is perhaps why to this day some people see black as the colour of diversity, of inferiority of an error in the middle of a team photograph.
“I think that if I had been white, I’d have had fewer problems. Perhaps I did cause some of my own problems and had the wrong attitude at times, but would I have been forgiven quicker? Absolutely yes,” he added.
Balotelli, however, rejected suggestions that all Italians are racists.
He said: “Italy is not a racist country, but it does have some racists in it. The change is in the hands of the next generation and we must teach our children that everyone is the same, despite apparent different.
He added: “That party isn’t exactly beyond reproach when it comes to racism… That man was used and he didn’t realise it, because that way the Lega can say there are black Italians who see things the way they do.
“The main point is to reiterate that there are black Italians. There are Italians and that’s it. Full stop. That senator can’t be passed off as an exception, otherwise we are back to the beginning again. If he’d been elected for any other party, I would’ve had nothing to say.”