PASSIONATE ... Manchester City and Italy striker Balotelli

MARIO BALOTELLI could walk off the pitch if he suffers racism during Euro 2012 — but I am begging him not to do this.

Otherwise, the racists will have won and the many people who have fought against racism around the world have died in vain.

It’s not nice being abused from the terraces. I have suffered it in the past.

The likes of Cyrille Regis, Garth Crooks, Laurie Cunningham and Viv Anderson suffered even worse before me.

If Italian star Balotelli suffers abuse in Ukraine or Poland, I want him to do one thing.

I want him to score goals. Lots of them. I want those racists to burn inside as a black man does well against their country.

It appears that racism could be a major issue at Euro 2012 and this really saddens me.

UEFA should have thought about this in the first place before handing the two countries Europe’s international tournament.

I’ve been reading stuff about how the countries are ready for OUR fans.

But what about Poland and Ukraine being ready for THEIR supporters.

UEFA are partly to blame because over the years, they have not dealt with racism in a proper way.

When there has been monkey chants from fans during Champions League or Europa League games, the home clubs have been hit with ridiculous £2,000 fines — obviously nowhere near enough.

The sums involved were not enough to ensure that clubs — and certain countries — took racism seriously.

Balotelli, along with all the black players among the nations, will now be aware they may be victims of some nasty stuff over these next few weeks. But I hope all the stars like Manchester City’s striker will grit their teeth and continue.

Otherwise, if Balotelli walks off the pitch or goes mad at a fan, then he will be seen as an angry black man. I want Balotelli to be bigger than that.

I totally understand and respect the decisions of both Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s families not to go to watch England at the tournament.

I certainly don’t blame them.

But I am delighted that Danny Welbeck’s loved ones are still going out to Ukraine to watch their boy feature in a major tournament for the first time.

Because if people didn’t confront racism in the 1960s in Britain, we would not be where we are today. The situation would be far worse.

Had any of my boys been picked for England, I would have definitely gone.

Likewise, if I had been asked to work out there, I would have confronted everything — because that is what you have to do.

You never, ever run away from a racist.

As I said earlier, many black and white people have died due to being persecuted.

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