• Premier League

'Exceptional Balotelli just needs more support'

ESPN staff
December 2, 2014
Mario Balotelli has come under-fire for a controversial social media post © Getty Images
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Mario Balotelli is an "exceptional player" who should be given more support to help him shake off his bad-boy reputation, according to former Liverpool forward Ryan Babel.

Balotelli, who has regularly made headlines for the wrong reasons, is currently the centre of attention after posting an offensive image on his Instagram account. He was forced to apologise after the image, which featured Nintendo character Mario with the words "jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a jew", drew accusations of racism and anti-Semitism.

Ryan Babel struggled at Liverpool for three-and-a-half years © Getty Images
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The FA has since confirmed to ESPN that it is investigating whether to charge Balotelli for bringing "the game into disrepute by making comments which included a reference to ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race".

Babel, who struggled to fulfil his potential during three-and-a-half years at Anfield, has sympathy for Balotelli, who signed for Liverpool from AC Milan this summer.

"People think every player should be treated the same," Babel said. "But sometimes you have exceptional players who need a different approach to get the best out of them, and that is Mario.

"I don't know him personally, but judging from the outside he should have different support. We know he has potential and is a good player. He has shown that before at other teams.

"If I look at myself, people said in the past I didn't show it [my best form] every week. I also felt I didn't really have the optimum support to get the best out of me, so I think maybe it's the same with Mario. But I still believe in his quality."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
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