{"id":407766,"date":"2018-03-08T06:12:31","date_gmt":"2018-03-08T06:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=407766"},"modified":"2018-03-08T06:12:31","modified_gmt":"2018-03-08T06:12:31","slug":"mario-balotelli-condemns-italys-first-black-senator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/03\/mario-balotelli-condemns-italys-first-black-senator\/","title":{"rendered":"Mario Balotelli condemns Italy’s first black senator"},"content":{"rendered":"
Italian footballer Mario Balotelli has attacked the country’s first black senator in an online post.<\/p>\n
Toni Iwobi was elected on Sunday for the anti-immigration Lega party.<\/p>\n
“Maybe I’m blind or perhaps they have not told him yet that he is black. But shame!!!” the footballer posted on Instagram.<\/p>\n
Born in northern Nigeria, Mr Iwobi came to Italy in 1976 and became a councillor for Lega (the League) in the Lombardy city of Spirano in 1995.<\/p>\n
What did Balotelli’s post say?<\/strong><\/p>\n The Italy striker, who plays for French Ligue 1 side Nice, put his post on Instagram on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Accompanying the text was a photo of Mr Iwobi and League leader Matteo Salvini, both raising clenched fists and wearing T-shirts saying “Stop Invasion” at an anti-immigration rally.<\/p>\n While there have been black members of Italy’s lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, the 62-year-old Toni Iwobi is the first black senator.<\/p>\n In a Facebook post celebrating his election, Mr Iwobi thanked Mr Salvini, who he called “a great leader”.<\/p>\n Last month,\u00a0Mario Balotelli was booked by a referee for pointing out racist chants\u00a0made during his side’s 3-2 loss to Dijon.<\/p>\n