FA charge Balotelli with violent conduct, facing four match ban

Once again, Mario Balotelli has made the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge Balotelli fan, but the FA were right to charge him with violent conduct for his stamp on Spurs midfielder Scott Parker.

The controversial incident has left Harry Redknapp lost for words.

“Having looked at it, it’s not the first time he has done that is it? And I’m sure it won’t be the last,” said Redknapp.

“He was annoyed he didn’t win the challenge and now Scott has a nasty cut on his face.

“I’m the last person to talk about things like that. I don’t like talking about people being kicked.

“I have got my own opinions. I don’t like people kicking people in the head on the football pitch. What reason did he have to backheel Scott in the head? It’s not a nice thing to do.

“It’s wrong. I don’t like seeing people react like that to a challenge. I’m surprised the officials didn’t see it.”

It’s hard, if not impossible, to disagree with Redknapp on this issue.

Balotelli’s past is filled with controversy and his future will undoubtedly be more “eventful” than the ordinary footballer.

It is undeniable that the former Inter Milan forward has done some questionable things in his career, but Balotelli is not all bad.

The Bad

In March 2010, while he was playing for Inter Milan, Balotelli was caught on video wearing an AC Milan shirt.

Can you imagine the backlash if Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand or Ryan Giggs were photographed or caught on video wearing a Liverpool shirt?

Fast forward one year. In March 2011, Mario was caught throwing darts at Manchester City’s youth team players.

Why? I haven’t the slightest clue, and something tells me that Balotelli didn’t either.

The Good

After winning approximately £25,000 in a casino in April 2011, Balotelli donated £1,000 to a homeless man.

“Mario is really generous,” a source told The Sun.

“He always hands £20 notes to the Big Issue boys without even taking the magazine. There’s a guy he always sees around town with ginger dreadlocks and a beard. He carries his possessions in two carrier bags.

“He was outside the club in the early hours so Mario handed him a wad of notes after his big win. The tramp couldn’t believe his luck. It was enough to keep him going for months.”

How many people that you know would do that? A handful, at most.

Furthermore, in May 2011, Balotelli saw a boy avoiding school and hanging around the Manchester City training ground with his mother.

After finding out that the boy was being bullied, Balotelli decided to take matters into his own hands.

Subsequently, he drove the boy and his mom to the school in his Maserati and demanded a meeting with the headmaster, where he resolved the problem.

A source said: “Mario feels strongly about bullying and thinks it’s out of order. He had no qualms about sorting the mess out as he felt the lad should not be missing out on school.”

So next time you hear Balotelli’s name in the news, don’t be so quick to judge the Italian.

That being said, his stamp on Scott Parker is fully deserving of a four match ban.

Balotelli may be hot-headed and ill-tempered at times, but when push comes to shove, he is quite generous and charismatic.