Serie A’s disciplinary tribunal on Tuesday ordered the club to close the Poltrona Est Stand, the section of its stadium where the abuse was heard in Sunday’s game, for its next home fixture against Fiorentina on November 24.
Meanwhile, the leader of Verona’s “ultras” fan group has been banned from home games for over a decade in response to the incident.
Born in Italy to Ghanaian parents, Balotelli threatened to leave the pitch during his side’s 2-1 defeat, picking up the ball in the second half near the corner flag and kicking it towards the fans that were abusing him with monkey chants.
Serie A’s disciplinary commission on Tuesday said the chants “were clearly perceived, in addition to the player, also by the federation representative positioned nearby”.
The commission found “after these cries... there were also cries of support followed by long applause”.
Despite denials of abuse from Verona, a video published on Twitter by a fan showed a group of supporters hurling abuse at Balotelli before the forward booted the ball at them in the stands.
The match was suspended for a few minutes around the hour mark as Balotelli tried to leave the field before a message was read out on the stadium loudspeaker threatening that both teams would leave if there was a repeat of any abuse.
Balotelli was stopped from leaving the pitch by teammates and Verona players, who consoled the 29-year-old.
“If you want to disturb a player, there are thousands of other ways to do it. But not like that. It’s not right like that,” Balotelli told Italian media.
“This handful, and I say it again because the idiots aren’t numerous but they exist, those who did that are stupid. Racist behaviour is not acceptable, it never has been, and never will be.”
Balotelli also took to Instagram after the incident, thanking his colleagues on and off the pitch, while also condemning the offenders.
“Thanks to all the colleagues on the pitch and outside of it for the solidarity shown towards me and all the messages received from you fans. You have proven to be real men, unlike those who deny the facts,” he said.
“The ‘people’ of this curva who made the monkey chants. Shame on you, shame on you, shame on you. Shame on you, in front of your children, wives, relatives, parents, friends and acquaintances.”
The incident is the latest in a series of events that have marred Italian football.
A day earlier, a game between Roma and Napoli was briefly suspended after Napoli’s Senegalese defender, Kalidou Koulibaly, was racially abused by a section of Roma fans in the Italian capital.
In September, Inter’s striker Romelu Lukaku was subjected to monkey chants as he took a penalty at Cagliari in September.
Like Balotelli, it wasn’t the first time it happened to him in Italy.
