Mario Balotelli Fined AU$ 47,980 And A Look Back At His Previous Misdemeanors

Mario Balotelli has been suspended for a match, fined AU$47,980 (£25,000) and must attend an educational course for posting an image on his Instagram page. "Jumps like a black man and grabs like a Jew", it said among other things underneath a picture of Super Mario, a nickname that he has been associated with over the years. After initially denying any wrong doing Balotelli has subsequently appologised for the post and now he has accepted the charges.

Mario Balotelli, 24, is no stranger to controversies. In 2010 he along with his mates fired air pistols in public at Milan's Plazza della Repubblica, later that year he was photographed with two well-known Mafia mobsters. Days after joining Manchester City he was involved in a car crash, when the investigators found AU$9,600 (£5,000) on him, he replied that he had that amount of cash on him because he is rich. He drove into an Italian women's prison apparently just to have a look around.

Balotelli, a day before a derby match against Manchester United, set his house on fire when he along with some of his friends let off fireworks inside his house. He has also broken the 48 hour curfew before a match to visit a curry house. He even gatecrashed a press conference for the newly appointed Italian football manager Andrea Stramaccioni.

Ryan Bable was the first player to be reprimanded by the English FA for his social media posts. Rio Ferdinand and his fellow England international Ashley Cole have also been guilty of not using their social media posts with discretion. All three of them were charged by the English FA subsequently.

Incidentally Mario Balotelli has been having a dry season in front of goal for Liverpool after being signed at the start of the season. After playing 10 matches in the Premier League he is yet to score for his club. In a total of 15 matches played he has only been on the score sheet in two of them.