Mario Balotelli was racially allegedly abused by a section of Spanish fans during Italy's Group C encounter against Spain on Sunday.

The possibility of racist abuse has overshadowed on-field issues during the build-up to the competition. The Dutch were racially abused during a training session in Poland and now Balotelli was marked out, with several Spanish fans resorting to monkey chants, whenever the forward had possession of the ball at the Arena Gdansk in Poland.

Photographer Chris Brunskill, who witnessed it first-hand, said. "I was behind the goal with all the Spanish fans behind me and they were involved in monkey chanting and laughter and mockery whenever Balotelli was on the ball," Brunskill was quoted as saying in the Daily Mirror.

"The ringleaders were two fans who were in fancy dress as Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal. But the stewards just seemed to think it was a laugh, and they did nothing. They seemed to think it was a giggle.

"These two were at the centre of it in my view but there were hundreds in the Spanish section joining in. I would say there were around 200-300 who joined in at times. It was especially bad when Balotelli was involved in any kind of trouble or altercation, for example when he was booked."

Brunskill was backed by Getty Images photographer Michael Steele, who said the abuse was loud and unmistakeable. "I could not see who was involved but it was obvious they were monkey chants.

"It was disgusting. There is no excuse for it. I am pretty sure Balotelli knew what was going on and heard it as he was close to that section of the crowd when he was booked.

"There were also what sounded like derogatory chants in Spanish with his name involved, but I do not know what they meant."

Greek photographer Yiannis Kourtoglou: "The monkey whoops were from the Spanish end. I could not see how many people were involved but they were clear.

"They were designed to put him off his game and they clearly worked -- he had a terrible match. "It was terrible for him and for me as well. He is a human being not a monkey."

There has been no confirmation of racist abuse from either camp, with the Italian FA saying they had not received any complaint. Balotelli had previously said he would walk off the pitch if he was racially abused, even stating he would kill someone if they threw a banana at him on the street.