Roberto Mancini is unlikely to punish Mario Balotelli further after his latest tantrum during Manchester City’s friendly against LA Galaxy.Striker Balotelli attempted an outrageous showboat in Sunday’s match at the Home Depot Centre, pirouetting on the ball and trying to backheel it into the net, but missing wide of the post.
Mancini substituted the former Inter Milan bad boy after just 30 minutes, with a heated exchange taking place between the two Italians on the touchline.
Balotelli then sulked on the bench for the rest of the half and failed to emerge to watch the second half.
“I hope this is a lesson for him,” Mancini said.
“In football you always need to be professional, always serious and in this moment he wasn’t professional.”
“If you are serious, you can play 90 minutes. If not, you can come and sit by me on the bench.”
“He needs to understand his behaviour has to be good in every game – not just in a final or a semi-final but every game.”
“He knows he made a mistake. Football should always be serious and if you have a chance to score, you should score.”
Stiff disciplinary action might have been expected from some, but Mancini, who has taken a relaxed line on touchline disputes in the past, believes the embarrassment of being withdrawn after only half an hour is punishment enough.
“Mario is young, I want to help him and that is the end of it,” he said.
“To take him off after 30 minutes is enough punishment. It won’t have been easy for him but it has to be a lesson.”
It was suggested that Balotelli claimed he thought he was offside, explaining why he attempted the trick.
But Mancini declined to reveal what was said during the furious exchange between player and coach.
“It was in Italian,” he said.
“In English I would find it difficult to give you the translation. But Mario is streetwise, he knows he was not offside.”
Following a 1-1 draw against the MLS side, Manchester City went on to win the match 7-6 on penalties, with goalkeeper Joe Hart striking the decisive spot kick.
