Sulley Muntari walks out of Serie A match after being yellow carded for reporting racist abuse

Ghanaian international Sulley Muntari was subjected to racist abuse during a Serie A match on Sunday, and he couldn’t find support from anyone. He was yellow carded for dissent for asking the referee to do something about it, then didn’t exactly get wholehearted support from his coach afterwards.

The incident happened during a match between Pescara — Muntari’s team — and Cagliari. After being booked, Muntari opted to walk off the pitch before the match ended.

“[The referee] told me I should not talk to the crowd. I asked him if had heard the insults,” Muntari said. “I insisted that he must have the courage to stop the game. The referee should not just stay on the field and blow the whistle, he must do everything. He should be aware of these things and set an example. I am not a victim. But if you stop the matches I am convinced that these things won’t happen any more.”

After Muntari was shown a yellow card, he walked off the pitch and handed his shirt to the young fan who was hurling the racist insults, saying he “needed to set an example so he grows up to be nice.”

Muntari’s manager, Zdenek Zeman, wasn’t exactly supportive of the way his player handled the situation. “Muntari has abandoned the pitch because of racist chants but we should not take justice into our own hands,” he said, though he added that Italy needs “a change of mentality” when it comes to dealing with racism in soccer.

Someday, an incident like this might inspire authorities to make serious changes in Italy. But the current president of the Italian FA is a vocal racist, so it’s unlikely to be this one.

Mario Balotelli’s opener for Nice against PSG. (r/soccer)

Yannick Ferreira Carrasco has shaken off a shoulder injury and will be available to face Real Madrid in Champions League. (AS)

Isco will start in Gareth Bale’s place in that match against Atlético Madrid. (Marca)

José Mourinho took a bit of a shot at Luke Shaw, saying he better have a “big” injury after coming off early against Swansea. (BBC)

United also lost Eric Bailly to an injury in that game. (Mirror)

Manchester City fears Sergio Aguero might be out for the season. (Bitter and Blue)

NYCFC coach Patrick Vieira confirmed that Andrea Pirlo’s benching was tactical and that he might do it again. (MLS)

Adam McCabe has a gay fan’s perspective on inclusion and pride flags in the Atlanta United supporters’ secton. (In Bed With Maradona)

Sid Lowe on Marcelo’s importance to Real Madrid. (Guardian)

Andrew Mangan on the cancelation of St. Totteringham’s Day and Arsenal’s steady descent to this point. (ESPN FC)

You can catch highlights of all this weekend’s MLS games here. (MLS)

And highlights of all the NWSL games here. (NWSL)

Bayern Munich clinched yet another Bundesliga title. (Bavarian Football Works)

Spurs beat Arsenal to ensure they’ll finish above their North London rivals. (Cartilage Free Captain)

Manchester United dropped points, hurting their top four chances. (The Busby Babe)

But they got some help — Manchester City failed to win as well. (Bitter and Blue)

There was no movement in the La Liga title race. Barcelona beat Espanyol in the Catalan derby. (Barca Blaugranes)

But Real Madrid won too, squeaking past Valencia. (Managing Madrid)

EPL: Watford vs. Liverpool (3 p.m.) — The Reds got a big boost with Arsenal and the Manchester clubs dropping points. They’ll be in great position to make Champions League if they win.