Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has pleaded his innocence, despite choosing not to appeal the FA decision to ban him for four matches.
The Italy international initially escaped punishment after it appeared that he kicked Scott Parker in the head in the Etihad Stadium team’s 3-2 win over Tottenham on Sunday.
However the game’s governing body in England retrospectively handed down a four-match punishment, and despite not challenging the decision, Balotelli has stated that he is innocent.
“I am not a villain or a violent player,” the attacker told The Independent.
“I have accepted the ban because I couldn’t prove my innocence.
“I didn’t try to heel Parker,” he concluded.
Roberto Mancini is also very upset with the forward’s suspension, and feels his side have been hard done by.
“The referee was there, 10 metres from the tackle. He could have sent Mario off at that moment, not after the game because he watched the video,” Mancini stated.
“That is easy. I can be a referee in the next game. He (Howard Webb) can’t say he didn’t see it. He saw everything.
“Now it is finished and Mario can do nothing. We lost Vinny (Kompany) for four games for nothing and now we are without Mario,” the trainer moaned.
By Gareth McKnight
Football News 24/7
What a plonker: Of course he can’t prove his innocence. The only people who don’t think it was a stamp al wear blue shirts.
As for Maniacini, he is beginning to believe his own imaginary cards. The cheek of the man, implying that the ref was lying. If he was lying, then this gave them two extra points so what is he complaining about.
The fact remains that it was nasty attack on a player that had his back to him and was lying incapacitated, on the floor, and was lucky not to suffer a serious or even possibly fatal injury.
At the risk of being called racist, it was the sort of attack that you might associate with an Italian, and it is not surprising that another Italian condoned it.
Reply