AC MilanGhana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng (R) is flanked by his teammate Mathieu Flamini as he gestures toward the crowd in Busto Arsizio, near Milan, Italy, Thursday. A friendly match between AC Milan and lower division club Pro Patria was abandoned Thursday after racist chants directed at Milan's black players, the latest incident of racial abuse that continues to blight the sport. After repeated chants directed his way, Ghana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng picked up the ball and kicked it at a section of the crowd in the 26th minute of the first half. Boateng then took off his shirt and walked off the pitch with his Milan teammates. Urby Emanuelson, Sulley Muntari and M'Baye Niang were also targeted by the chants. — AP MILAN — AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi pledged Friday that his team would walk off the pitch again to support a player who was victim of racist abuse by fans, as the move was widely hailed as setting a precedent against bigotry. Italy's former prime minister, who is both president and owner of the club, spoke out a day after German-born Ghanaian forward Kevin-Prince Boateng was heckled during a friendly by fans of Pro Patria and the Milan giant left the field in protest. Boateng won plaudits for taking a stance against racist fans who blight the game, although some, including former Milan players Gennaro Gattuso and Clarence Seedorf, questioned his approach. Berlusconi, however, said he would back his team if it walked off the pitch again whether in domestic or continental matches, calling the scenes at fourth-tier Pro Patria, which is based in Busto Arsizio, near Milan, “disgraceful”. “I can assure you that in every game, including international (European), if we experience episodes of this nature we will, as a rule, leave the pitch,” Berlusconi said, according to the Italian news agency ANSA. Footballers and sports commentators said Boateng's protest had highlighted a problem that has been tolerated for too long in Italian stadiums and which continues to dog some parts of the European game. Damiano Tommasi, head of the Italian footballers' union Assocalciatori, told La Repubblica: “It's a strong, important signal that finally sets a precedent. “It's good that it comes from first-rate players, who are usually accused of being less sensitive or less willing to make a stand.” Italian football federation (FIGC) president Giancarlo Abete said efforts were being made to identify the perpetrators, adding: “No matter what sanctions are imposed, nothing can cancel the disdain for such an intolerable episode. “My complete backing goes to the players who were victims of racist chants and to Milan, who refused to continue playing -- a decision that was shared by the referee, who had already suspended the match twice.” — Reuters
