West Ham keen to sign Mario Balotelli from Inter Milan

21 April 2009 09:39
According to the Mirror, Balotelli, 18, was a target of West Ham's in January, but Inter were not willing to sell the Italian U21 international. However, Balotelli, who was born to Ghanaian immigrant parents but brought up by an Italian family, was subjected to racist chants at the weekend during Inter's 1-1 draw with Juventus, and West Ham believe the player may now be willing to swap Serie A for the Premier League. Juve fans reportedly chanted "black Italians don't exist", and as a result the Bianconeri have been ordered to play their next league home game - against Lecce on May 3 - behind closed doors. Inter president Massimo Moratti said he would have pulled his team off the field if he witnessed the abuse. "If I had been at the stadium, at a certain point I would have left my seat in the stand, I would have gone onto the pitch and I would have pulled the team off," Morati claimed. "They seemed proud and happy to sing those things. This is terrible." Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli also condemned the chants, adding: "On behalf of Juventus and the great majority of our fans I want to strongly condemn the racist chanting against Inter Milan's Mario Balotelli. "There are no excuses or justification for this type of behaviour. Episodes such as this are inexcusable. "Together we must all try to promote a sporting culture that puts respect for the adversary at its core and fights against racism."

Source: Telegraph