Clarence Seedorf seemed to dismiss rumours
Mario Balotelli’s tears were down to racist abuse.
“It was actually beautiful.”
The striker broke down on the bench after his
substitution during Milan’s 3-1 defeat to Napoli .
He had just missed a great scoring opportunity at
the Stadio San Paolo.
There have been some reports outside Italy that
he was crying because of racist abuse from the
Napoli fans, but there appears to be no evidence
of this.
“What can I say about Balotelli’s tears? They
were the tears of a sportsman,” said Coach
Seedorf in a Press conference.
In an interview with Mediaset Premium Seedorf
also noted “Mario is human. These are things
that happen many times in football and sport in
general. I’d say it was actually beautiful, but I’d
prefer to talk about the game.”
The tactician had also told Sky Sport Italia “we
are players and there are times when we express
ourselves that way. I see nothing wrong or
abnormal in that. I experienced it at times too.”
Teammate Ignazio Abate suggested the tears
were not of anger, but of disappointment. “Mario
really cares about doing well with Milan and
making his mark. He is sentimental. It’s a shame
that he got so downhearted about it, as he needs
to keep his head up.”
It has been an emotional few days for Balotelli, as
DNA tests proved he is a father to Pia , the
daughter of his ex-girlfriend Raffaella Fico.
It’s worth noting his former partner is from
Naples and lives in the city, so it’s possible he
saw his daughter for the first time this weekend.
Balotelli also wrote an open letter to explain his
emotions at this discovery, which terminates a
lengthy and often bitter legal battle.
Mario’s brother Enock Baruwah also implied the
paternity issue was behind his tears in a tweet.
“Let’s not start posting pictures of him crying,
dammit. Let’s leave him alone for once and
pretend it didn’t happen... It has been a tough
week.”