Cagliari: Inter Milan's Serie A game at Cagliari should have been halted when fans started to racially abuse striker Mario Balotelli, president Massimo Moratti said.
Juventus were forced to play a match behind closed doors last season after their fans sang racist chants against Balotelli, who is Italian but of Ghanaian descent.
Following that incident, Italy's soccer authorities said games should be suspended in cases of racist abuse if police agreed. However, the referee at Cagliari took no action.
"The referee should have stopped the match because of the racist chants towards Balotelli," Moratti told reporters after Inter had largely stayed silent about the matter after the game.
Inter coach Jose Mourinho was sent to the stands for arguing with officials about an on-field incident during Sunday's match and the league has imposed a one-game ban on the Portuguese.
No sanction has so far been sought against Cagliari for the chants.
Moratti was astounded that only the outspoken Mourinho had been punished.
"On the basis of what I've been told, Mourinho definitely didn't insult the referee and we didn't expect this type of sanction," he said. "I wouldn't want his lively character to be confused with aggressive behaviour."
Moratti also denied Inter were interested in signing Sampdoria's in-form forward Antonio Cassano and said having Juve at the top of the standings made Serie A more competitive and was good for champions Inter.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, September 22, 2009, 09:14