Ghana midfielder Sulley Muntari says he walked off the pitch in the game against Cagliari after match officials failed to take action when he was being racially abused by the home fans.

The former AC Milan midfielder was booked late in his side's 1-0 loss at Stadio Sant'Elia, seemingly for dissent after confronting the match official.

Muntari, who responded by walking off before the final whistle, has since claimed his premature departure was an act of protest following his perceived mistreatment at the hands of sections of the home crowd.

"They were chanting against me from the start, then in the first half I saw in the group there were some children and the parents said nothing," Muntari is quoted as saying by Sky Sport Italia.

"So I turned to the parents and gave them my jersey, to set the example. In the Curva, the issue continued with another group of fans.

"I was trying to reason with them, but the referee told me to leave them alone. That's when I got angry. Because rather than stop the game, he decided to punish me?

"The fans were wrong, but the referee had to act differently, not accuse me of causing trouble. I am the victim here. If the officials begin actually stopping games when this happens, I am convinced it won't happen again."