Balotelli gets another bashing

Monday, 23/01/2012

by Caroline Oatway, Shoot's Man City blogger

Yet another huge game for City provided one of the most thrilling matches of the season. A thoroughly exciting and enjoyable clash against Tottenham saw the Blues run out 3-2 winners, but yet again, the main post-match talking point is Mr Mario Balotelli.

Sadly, the discussions aren’t about his match-winning penalty either. The Italian is alleged to have ‘stamped’ on Scott Parker earlier in the game and many have called for the FA to take action. And whether or not the movement of his foot was intentional, I ask you this: “If it were any other player than Balotelli, would everyone be making such a fuss?”

Somehow, I think not. I’m not defending his actions (if they were deliberate) but it does seem that our wild youngster is becoming victimised.

Don’t get me wrong – he’s made some stupid mistakes in the past. And his past red-cards have been fully justified, but this one incident is more debatable. It wasn’t just a ‘Karl Henry-type’ kick out – he was in mid-fall. How could he possibly see Parker’s head when the Tottenham man was lying on the floor behind Balotelli? And how can anyone regain their balance without planting their feet firmly on the ground?

And yes, maybe I have got my blue-tinted spectacles on and maybe I am naïve to give the feisty Italian the benefit of the doubt. But people are making far more out of this scenario than is really necessary. It seems that, since Vincent Kompany’s red card in the FA Cup against United, fans as well as the media have begun to criticise and scrutinise every single foul or collision within each match.

The matter of the fact is: no-one but Balotelli knows whether the ‘stamp’ was intentional or not. If it was deliberate, then I definitely do not condone it. But I think that a lot of people are quick to point the finger purely because Balotelli is involved and that is the ‘done thing’ these days.

There were plenty of other talking points from Sunday’s game that should be dominating the headlines. For example, there were some cracking goals scored. Focus on the positives! Tottenham were excellent and provided one of our biggest challenges this season. If they don’t finish in the top three, there will be no justice. They are a fine passing side with plenty of pace and some fantastic players.

And let’s not forget the importance of the win! Our last-gasp winner maintained our position at the top and temporarily put us six points clear. That in itself should give the Blues a huge boost ahead of their must-win League Cup semi-final against Liverpool, who slumped to a disappointing 3-1 defeat to struggling Bolton at the weekend.

Although the Reds will have had an extra day to recover (again), City should be full of optimism, confidence and desire. With either Cardiff or Crystal Palace lying in wait for the final, there is a massive incentive to win. Both City and Liverpool crave success so Wednesday’s clash has all the makings of a classic. Here’s hoping that we can get the right result – I want another trip to Wembley!

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