Mario Balotelli out of derby after accepting red card
Manchester City have accepted the red card that was shown to striker Mario Balotelil in the match against West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. The 20-year-old striker was sent off in the 63rd minute of the match against the Baggies. He will now miss the derby with neighbours Manchester United on Wednesday, 10th November; however, City will appeal against the 3-match ban.
Previously it was thought that the City manager Roberto Mancini was going to appeal against the red card so that Mario can be made available for the derby.
A straight red card was shown in bizarre fashion when the striker appeared to have kicked Baggies midfielder Youssuf Mulumbu. The City players protested but the referee had no doubt in his mind that a professional foul had been committed. However, Mancini after reviewing the video footage did not agree with the match official.
Mancini said: "I absolutely do not agree with the referee about this sending-off, A red card for what? He played a fantastic game, he scored two goals, but the sending off was very strange. I want to know why it was a direct red card. For me this is not correct and the referee must explain."
It was thought that a petition would be filed on Monday morning with the Football Association in a last ditch effort to overturn the red card, but today it seems they have decided not to do that. There was a slight danger in appealing because if the FA believed that the appeal had no weight, the current three-match ban would have been turned into a four-match ban.
The FA said in a statement: "The FA can confirm that Manchester City FC have today submitted a claim that, following the dismissal of Mario Balotelli for violent conduct, the standard punishment of an automatic three match ban is clearly excessive."
As per the new rules by FA, a player is banned for three matches if he is dismissed for serious foul play or violent conduct. However, only using abusive language and denying a goal scoring opportunity carry a lesser penalty, two and one match ban respectively.
The Italian was also angry with his young striker, as he had been given a yellow card that was shown for a foul on Marek Cech a minute before the red. He was walking a tight rope and as he was about to substitute him with Adam Johnson, the incident took place.
Currently 4th in the league, a win against The Albion reduced some pressure on Mancini as he came into the match with three successive defeats at the hand of Lech Poznan, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal. The Italian knew how important it was to win before the big match, and they are now in a position to challenge the Red Devils. If they win, they will get level on points with their bitter rivals.
He added: “It was very important to win going into the derby. We are in a good position. Maybe we can get into second position after that game.”
The Italian admitted the confidence of his side had taken a bit of a knock, but wowed to comeback strongly.
Mancini bought the striker known as ‘super mario’ for £25million from Inter Milan this summer and after appearing in just one match in the Europa League qualifier against FC Timisoara, the striker got injured and this was only his 2nd start since recovering from the injury. Now again missing key games due to suspension is a huge blow.
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