Mario Ballotelli. Would you back him or is it a dangerous precedent ?

He has stated he will walk off the pitch at the Euros if he suffers racial abuse. Whilst I agree any abuse would be deplorable, there is a part of me that thinks there is a danger we could only see guys like this carrying out such a threat IF their team is losing.

Imagine England leading Italy 2-0 in the semis with only minutes to go. Ballotelli (for eg) gets the nod to walk and the rest of the team follow.

As I say, i would deplore the abuse but I do think there is a case that players should follow an edict to stay on the pitch whatever (let the authorities dish out the punishment) in the same way the Police or Forces can't go on strike.

Could be interesting.