Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli was "only joking" when he said he supported Milan, inadvertently starting a storm of protest.

Balotelli caused a storm on Tuesday when he claimed that he actually supported bitter rivals Milan, a comment that upset the clubs tifosi who questioned his loyalty to the Rossoneri.

he made the comment whilst meeting with disabled children at the Don Gnocchi institute in Milan.

However his sister, and PR agent, Cristina Balotelli was quick to defuse the situation claiming that he was only joking.

"You can never tell when he is joking around," his sister told La Repubblica.

"He just wanted to crack a joke to attract the attention of the children. To be honest, I don't know who he supports. He is the only one who can say. He did support Milan when he was a young boy.

"He wants to stay at Inter and he is happy there."