Juventus will have to play a home game behind closed doors after fans racially abused Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli in Saturday's 1-1 Serie A draw, the Italian league said on Monday. The 18-year-old scored Inter's opener in the top-of-the-table clash and was subjected to chants of “a black Italian does not exist” from sections of the Juve crowd in Turin. Balotelli, an Italy under-21 international, was born in Palermo but is of Ghanaian descent. “The sporting judge ... considered that in the course of the game and on multiple occasions, fans of the home team, in various sections of the stadium, sang songs which included racial discrimination,” a league statement said. “Juventus are therefore obliged to play one game behind closed doors.” The statement said the abuse could not be excused as sporting passion.
