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Balotelli should not have been on the pitch - Redknapp

Mario Balotelli wins the game-winning penalty © Getty Images

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Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp was left irate after seeing his side lose 3-2 against Manchester City - insisting Mario Balotelli should have been sent off for a stamp on Scott Parker long before he scored the game's winning goal.

Balotelli won and converted the 94th minute penalty that decided the game, but that was not before he appeared to stamp on Parker's head following a collision with the Spurs midfielder.

Redknapp was incensed after the game, angry that Balotelli - who had already received a yellow card - had escaped further punishment from referee Howard Webb.

"It looked like a penalty, but the boy who scored the penalty shouldn't have been on the pitch. He kicked Scott Parker in the head," Redknapp told Sky Sports.

"He does that quite often. It's not right. He's caught him and then he's back-heeled him again in the face and cut his head.

"You can't get away with things like that on the football pitch, the referee should be seeing that.

"He's kicked him in the head, it's there for everybody to see. I'm sure you've got it on the TV. No-one can make excuses that he didn't do it, because anyone can see he did do it."

Redknapp did try and take some positives from the game, which saw his side come back from 2-0 down before succumbing to Balotelli's late impact.

"It just proves to me that we're as good as anybody. They weren't better than us today," Redknapp added. "We were so close and looked the more likely team to win. I'm delighted with the players. It just shows how far we have come and where we can go from here. We've got a good team.

"We've been beaten 3-2 here knowing we shouldn't have been beaten. It should be very easy to pick them up. They've proved to everyone today that they're good enough to play against Man City."

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