Mario Balotelli may have played his last game for Nice after he was caught on camera launching a tirade at French referees.
Balotelli is out of contract at the end of the season, and any ban he has to serve would carry over to a new club.
The striker, expected to leave Nice in the summer after two seasons with the club, scored the opening goal five minutes into Sunday’s game at Marseille.
He was later shown a yellow card by referee Antony Gautier for a lunge at Marseille’s Bouna Sarr.
It was the former Manchester City and Liverpool man’s ninth caution of the league season, while he has also been sent off once.
As he left the pitch at half-time, Balotelli was caught by Canal+ cameras saying in English: “Every time, f—— French referees, every time.”
His outburst echoes one made by Zlatan Ibrahimovic during his time at Paris Saint-Germain in 2015.
The forward publicly apologised after TV cameras caught him calling France “a s—– country” following a defeat at Bordeaux.
Ibrahimovic was given a four-game suspension by the French Football League (LFP), and Balotelli could face a similar sanction with just two games of the season remaining.
Ian is ESPN’s French football correspondent. Twitter: @ian_holyman
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