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FA accused of hypocrisy over decision not to punish Mario Balotelli further

The Football Association has been accused of double standards after Balotelli, escaped retrospective disciplinary action for his dangerous studs-up lunge on Arsenal’s Alex Song.

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The Football Association was accused of double standards on Tuesday after Mario Balotelli, the Manchester City striker, escaped retrospective disciplinary action for his dangerous studs-up lunge on Arsenal's Alex Song.

The decision immediately prompted an angry backlash from fans, with the sense of outrage compounded by the verdict to uphold the red card and suspension of Queens Park Rangers midfielder Shaun Derry for his sending-off against Manchester United.

While Balotelli's tackle was clearly dangerous, Derry made only the faintest of contact with Ashley Young in conceding a highly contentious penalty.

"Shaun Derry red card stands," said Gary Lineker, the former England captain. "Who makes these decisions at the FA? Have they any feeling for the game? Beggars belief at times."

QPR officials accused Young of diving after Sunday's game and, privately, the club are seething at news that Derry will be ineligible for tonight's crucial match at home to Swansea City.

"We feel we have been punished three times," said Mark Bowen, the QPR assistant manager. "The penalty was given, we were without the player for 75 minutes. We fully expected Shaun to be let off and be able to play."

On reviewing the incident, however, it was decided by an independent three-man panel that the decision of referee Lee Mason should stand as it was not a clear and obvious error.

The Balotelli situation provoked even more controversy, particularly as Roberto Mancini, the Manchester City manager, had conceded that it should have been a straight red card. Mancini had also fully expected Balotelli to be banned for the rest of the season, with his player facing a nine-match suspension if he had been charged with violent conduct.

Balotelli was eventually sent off in stoppage time of Sunday's defeat against Arsenal for two separate bookable tackles and so will now only be banned for the matches against West Bromwich Albion, Norwich and Wolves.

Mancini has also made it clear that his wayward striker will be considered for the club's final three games of the season, including the fixture against Manchester United on April 30.

The FA's reasoning for not charging Balotelli over the Song offence was that referee Martin Atkinson had confirmed that the incident was seen by himself or one of his assistants. In those circumstances, the FA will not review individual decisions, meaning there was no further judgment on whether it was a mistake to not even award a foul for Balotelli's challenge.

The same principle was applied last season when Manchester United's Wayne Rooney escaped punishment for an alleged elbow on Wigan midfielder James McCarthy. On that occasion, referee Mark Clattenburg awarded a free-kick and later confirmed that he had seen the incident.

The FA's policy has been agreed with its main stakeholders, including Fifa, football's world governing body, which does not want national authorities to set a precedent whereby every contentious incident could be re-refereed.

The only exception to that policy in recent memory was when Ben Thatcher, then of Manchester City, was retrospectively banned for eight games following his forearm smash on Portsmouth's Pedro Mendes in 2006. That incident is still regarded within the FA as so horrendous to have been a one-off. At the time, the FA said that it was an "exceptional" case.

The FA issued a statement yesterday to explain that retrospective disciplinary action would be reserved for off-the-ball incidents that are clearly missed by match officials, such as the alleged punch on Saturday by Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic that did result in a violent conduct charge.

"Where at least one of the officials has seen the coming together of players retrospective action is not taken, regardless of whether they have seen the full extent of the challenge," said the statement.

"Retrospective action can only be taken in scenarios where none of the match officials saw the players coming together. The normal scenarios in which retrospective action is taken are for 'off the ball' incidents."

The Balotelli decision, however, was met with considerable fury. Hundreds of football fans joined Lineker in using Twitter to voice their opinions, with many supporters accusing the FA of double standards.

Alvin Martin, the former England defender and Talksport pundit, said: "The game now has officially gone mad. It's gone potty.

"We have seen petty offences, throughout this season, in all divisions being punished with players sent off. Then we see a really serious offence, in view of everyone I would have thought, and no action has been taken.

"If his [Song's] leg had been planted, it could have broken his leg. It was a serious challenge. Anyone who has played the game, even Manchester City players and their management, would know that is a serious challenge."


 

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