Internazionale striker Mario Balotelli was praised for his calm reaction when Roma fans threw bananas at him in a bar.

The 18-year-old, who was in Rome ahead of joining the Italy U21 squad, was praised for his calmness by coach Pierluigi Casiraghi, having previously reacted angrily when confronted by Italy's football racism problem.

"The boy has behaved well both with the team and in the specific incident yesterday when he didn't respond to verbal provocation," Casiraghi said in a statement.

Italy-born Balotelli, who has Ghanaian roots, was racially abused by Juventus fans at a Serie A match in April and has been the victim of racist chanting and gestures from fans throughout the season.

Juve were forced to play a game behind closed doors as punishment.