An Italian newspaper thought it would be HILARIOUS to depict footballer Mario Balotelli as the giant black menacing ape King Kong mounting Big Ben in the cartoon above.
La Gazzetta dello Sport decided to feature the cartoon in the run up to the Euro 2012 Italy v England game which took place on Sunday.
Mario as you can imagine wasn’t very happy with the depiction so the rag later issued an insincere “apology” which said something along the lines of,
We’ve done nothing wrong, but are sorry if you were offended, sorry if you misunderstood.
They then added,
“It wasn’t our cartoonist’s best product. In these times we need a bit more moderation, caution and good taste. But we have always fought against racism and condemned booing against Balotelli as unacceptable.”
In response to the cartoon a spokesperson from anti-racism organisation Kick It Out said,
“Aspiring players in Italy who want to follow in his footsteps could wonder what support they will have when they get to his level when they see cartoons like that. It is not the first time we have seen this sort of depiction of Mario and we think the media have a responsibility. How do they think they can portray him like that?’’
*shaking my head*
It’s been a terrible year so far for high-profile black men particularly in the world of football. It seems they are no longer “in fashion”.
Ashley Young and Ashley Cole faced a backlash of racism on Twitter after missing their penality kicks which led to England crashing out of the Euro 2012 tournament.
So what now? Will they all begin to stand up for themselves and speak out or do what they always do. Just sit in silence and pretend nothing is happening?
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“Will they all begin to stand up for themselves and speak out or do what they always do. Just sit in silence and pretend nothings happening?”
This statement is the absolute truth! They come across weak, lacking in back bone and they never seem to speak out. I dont know if the £70k + a week wages make it easier for them to deal with. But I believe they should have formed some type black players union and boycotted football matches/countries if they were getting racial abuse.
However I believe none of them would do this as it would actually mean standing up and being proud of who you are i.e. a black man. Most of them sadly aren’t and is reflected in their choice of partner..
No wonder why Balotelli is pissed all the time
Cole and Young would have received the following response if they had been successful in scoring their goals: “Well done coons, good on ya”. You just cannot win with so called white man, damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
I feel for Belotelli having to put up with this continual rife racism from the Italians. The can will soon be opened, I look forward to the party.
Italy Never would have made it without him… He scored 2 freaking goals to get them to Spain and he is still mistreated… Enough is Enough.. In this country anymore-All races are mixed..He is on the team, speaks the language and respects Italy-Balotelli needs to stop being under scrutiny. The people in his Natural country probably despise him because, of accepting Italy… The Artist knew exactly what he was doing. For years-Racist individuals always put Black people with Apes and Gorillas. I could go on and on about this.. I will cease for now.