Mario Balotelli
French club Nice have claimed Mario Balotelli was shown a yellow card for complaining about racist abuse he received from Dijon fans during their 3-2 loss there on Saturday night.
The Italian forward was booked by referee Nicolas Rainville in the 74th minute having remonstrated with fans about the abuse.
The official Nice Twitter account wrote: ‘In the meantime, Mario Balotelli has been given a yellow card, after… getting annoyed with racist insults from the public.’
No further details of the abuse were given, with coach Lucien Favre and club president Jean-Pierre Riviere not mentioning it among comments that were critical of Rainville’s other decisions on the night.
It is not the first time the former Manchester City and Liverpool forward Balotelli has complained about being racially abused during a match.
In January 2017, he spoke out against Bastia fans who he alleged made monkey noises during a match. The French league subsequently opened an investigation.