It is just another incident in the crazy life of Mario Balotelli. At least this time it is occurring on the football pitch rather than off it. Harry Redknapp had demanded that the FA take action against Balotelli for kicking Scott Parker in the head while he lay on the floor.
It was Balotelli who scored the fifth and final goal in Manchester City’s victory over Tottenham, but in Redknapp’s view he should not have been on the pitch. In the 84th minute Parker put his body in the way of Balotelli’s shot, landing on the floor in the process. In regaining his balance, Mario Balotelli clattered Parker’s head with his boots. The question is whether or not it was done deliberately.
Having been sent off earlier in the season, against Liverpool at Anfield, if the FA do decide to penalise the player, it will be a four match ban that rules him out of games until the end of February. Redknapp does not question the penalty decision, but maintains that the player should not have been available to put it into the net. Scott Parker had to get stitches in his head for the gash above his eye.
In another incident, Joleon Lescott could also have seen red when he appeared to hit Younes Kaboul with his forearm when challenging for the ball. If Howard Webb saw the Balotelli incident, then Redknapp suggests he shouldn’t be in charge of any football match, never mind a World Cup final, as it is clearly a red card offence. He does concede the possibility that Webb did not see the incident.
Team coach for Manchester City, David Platt, said that he hadn’t seen the incident, and wouldn’t comment until he had seen it. However, he did mention that last month it was shown that different angles revealed different ‘facts’. Balotelli had nothing to say on the matter. Drawn to talk on his penalty he said that he was calm, just like every other time he took a penalty.
Some see the man as a ‘lovable eccentric’ thanks to his many public antics such as: throwing darts at a work experience student, letting off fireworks in his bathroom, attempting to score with a back heel during a friendly pre-season game, using school bathrooms in Manchester and driving into a women’s prison in Italy ‘to look around’.
Redknapp clearly does not agree with this assessment. He couldn’t see any reason for Balotelli’s actions, and can’t see how it could possibly be an accident. He believes that Balotelli was reacting to Parker’s challenge, but that there had been nothing wrong with what Parker did.
Redknapp was not alone in his views. Graham Souness echoed the sentiment on Sky Sports, saying the Balotelli knew exactly what he did, and that rather than bringing his right leg forward he pushed backwards in order to hurt Parker.
About his own side, Harry Redknapp was effusive, congratulating his team on their efforts. Had Jermain Defore been able to stretch an inch further to make contact with the ball from Gareth Bale in the dying moments, then it could have been Tottenham that walked away with the points, and the title would have been very open. Instead City have stretched their lead to 8 points over the London club.