Ligue 1 referee Tony Chapron has claimed that he sent off Mario Balotelli in Saturday's fixture between Nice and Lorient because of an English insult.
The Italian striker, who spent four seasons in England with Manchester City and Liverpool, was shown a red card in the 68th minute of the game at the Stade du Moustoir, which finished 1-0 to the visitors.
There was uncertainty over the reason for Balotelli's dismissal, but Chapron is quoted by French newspaper L'Equipe as saying: "He insulted me in English. I won't say more but it was something classical."
Balotelli, who has been dismissed three times so far this season, scored seven goals in his first seven Ligue 1 games for Nice but has found the net just once so far in 2017.
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