Pescara Calcio midfielder, Sulley Muntari walked off the pitch in protest when a referee booked him after he claimed he was being racially abused during a league match.

The former Ghana international asked Daniele Minelli to stop Sunday’s Serie A game at Cagliari.

But he was instead booked for dissent in the 89th minute, prompting the former Portsmouth and Sunderland player to leave the pitch in protest.

The 32-year-old angrily confronted Cagliari fans, shouting: “This is my colour.”

Speaking after the game, Muntari said: “The referee should not just stay on the field and blow the whistle, he must do everything.

“I asked him if he had heard the insults. I insisted that he must have the courage to stop the game.”

Muntari was at AC Milan when then team-mate Kevin-Prince Boateng walked off the pitch because of racist chanting during a friendly with lower-league side Pro Patria in January 2013.

It prompted a wave of support on social media. FIFA, football’s world governing body, applauded Boateng’s principles, but said it did not condone his decision to walk off.

Pescara are bottom of Serie A and have been relegated to Italy’s second tier.