Mario Balotelli will not appeal the four-match suspension he was handed for a stamp on Scott Parker's head. The incident occurred in Manchester City's 3-2 win over Tottenham on Sunday and the FA moved quickly to slap him with the four-match ban for violent conduct. Balotelli could have appealed and been eligible to play until the appeals process was exhausted, but he has instead chosen to serve his ban immediately.
Mario Balotelli Will Not Appeal Violent Conduct Suspension
Balotelli landed himself in hot water when he and Parker got tangled up in a challenge late in Sunday’s match. The striker found himself off-balance and stumbling across Parker, but when he was clear of Parker, he reached his left foot back and stamped on Parker’s head. Balotelli never looked back at Parker and was off-balance so it wasn’t clearly an intentional stamp, but the FA deemed it violent conduct and handed down the ban.
In all likelihood, Balotelli chose not to appeal his suspension to avoid further punishment from the FA for a frivolous appeal. Had Balotelli chosen to appeal, he would have been able to play in Wednesday's Carling Cup semifinal at Anfield, but he would have also been at risk of missing the Carling Cup final, should City make it. Instead, Balotelli will miss league matches against Everton, Fulham and Aston Villa, in addition to the Carling Cup semifinal. He will be able to make his return on February 16 when City take on Porto in Europa League action.
Balotelli's absence will present some problems for the Citizens, who now just have two strikers are their disposal, but when your two strikers are Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko, you're not going to get a lot of sympathy.
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