KRAKOW, June 27: Top Italian daily newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport has apologised for printing a cartoon portraying black Italy striker Mario Balotelli as King Kong.

Media reports said Balotelli’s agent Mino Raiola had reacted with fury at the depiction, which comes after the 21-year-old has battled racism in his homeland and abroad for years. The cartoon of the Manchester City forward on top of London’s Big Ben swatting away footballs was meant to be humourous and positive, showing the striker as a giant who had conquered England.

However, in the wake of Italy’s Euro 2012 quarter-final win over England and ahead of their semi-final with Germany on Thursday, the cartoon has received complaints from readers.

“We can honestly say it is not one of the best efforts by our great cartoonist,” Gazzetta said. “If someone found it offensive we are sorry. This newspaper has always fought against racism in stadiums and denounced monkey noises aimed at Balotelli.”

Neither Balotelli nor Italy were immediately available to comment.—Reuters