Inter striker Mario Balotelli encountered ignorance, not racism, when he was abused by fans at Juventus, the Serie A leaders' coach Jose Mourinho said.

Juventus were ordered to play their next home league game behind closed doors on Monday after sections of the crowd in Turin chanted "a black Italian does not exist" at the 18-year-old, who scored in Saturday's 1-1 draw.

Balotelli, an Italy under-21 international, was born in Palermo but is of Ghanaian descent.

"I don't think it's racism," Mourinho told a news conference. "It's an ignorant, stupid, infantile way to show that I don't like this player.

"Why? Not because he's African, but because he's good, because he scores against my team, because he dribbles, because he's difficult to mark."

The Portuguese said that if Juventus fans were really racist they would also abuse their own black players, such as Mohamed Sissoko.

"If it's racism, it's racism for all, not just for opposition players," he said.

He added that Balotelli had experienced this type of abuse before.

"If I can say something in Juventus' defence it is that it is not the first time Mario has been the victim of these chants," he said. "It's happened at many stadiums and even at our home ground."

Juve apologised but are appealing against the decision to ban fans from the home game with Lecce on May 3.

UEFA president Michel Platini said on Tuesday that he wanted matches to be halted if fans were making racist chants