Mario Balotelli Charged With Violent Conduct

I know it's ancient history, but do you guys recall that controversial moment in yesterday's match, wherein Manchester City forward Mario Balotelli intentionally stomped on Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Scott Parker's head, only to not get thrown off the pitch and proceed to score the game winning penalty?

Ok, enough wallowing in how horrible that was, the important thing is to examine the consequences of that action. Those consequences are a four match ban, turning to five if he files a (what will probably be) frivolous appeal. This means Balotelli will miss the Carling Cup semifinal (unless he appeals) and matches against Everton, Fulham, and Aston Villa. He could also miss the Carling Cup final if he decides to appeal. While this ruling won't take the points gained from the match away, at least it won't go unpunished. Some readers had feared yesterday that Howard Web would claim to have seen the incident in his report of the match, thus disallowing the FA from further punishing Balotelli. This was not the case, as Webb admitted he missed the incident.

The FA has also confirmed that Joleon Lescott's elbow to the face of Younes Kaboul will not be reprimanded. Balotelli has until 6pm on Wednesday to appeal.