RACE ROW … Mario Balotelli
The Manchester City striker played in the Italians’ Euro
2012 win over England on Sunday.
That morning’s Gazzetta dello Sport published a drawing of Balotelli atop Big
Ben, based on the film scene of King Kong climbing New York’s Empire State
Building.
It clumsily expressed cartoonist Valerio Marini’s opinion that Balotelli had
dominated England.
But hundreds of angry readers protested that it was racist towards Balotelli,
whose parents were born in Ghana, and Gazzetta was forced into a grovelling
apology.
Italian journalist Luigi Garlando said: “It is an unfortunate cartoon.”
Milan-based Gazzetta admitted: “We need a bit more moderation, caution and
good taste.”