By Mark Baber
October 15 – After a clash with paparazzi in Naples, Mario Balotelli has been defended by the Italian FA after journalists used the incident to spark a storm of criticism against the Milan striker.
When the Italian team arrived in Naples for their World Cup qualifier against Armenia on Sunday, there were chaotic scenes at the station and in the media crush Balotelli was apparently clipped by a Mediaset TV camera and turned around to push it away.
The incident was used by journalists to attack Balotelli as eccentric, tempestuous and angry and Yahoo even brought up old and discredited accusations of Balotelli “cavorting with criminals” in Naples – harking back to a tour of the city he was given at which two Mafiosi were allegedly present.
A tweet sent by Balotelli in which he said he was coming to Naples “because football is wonderful and everyone should play it where they want, plus there’s a game!!!!” was even interpreted as indicating support for local gangsters, as he had included in the tweet a headline of a newspaper saying “Balotelli is ill, but will be there in Naples as a symbol against the Camorra (the local Mafia),” upside down.
The president of the Italian federation, Giancarlo Abete, defended Balotelli, telling RAI: “It’s a demanding period for Mario and we have to understand the media pressure on him is excessive. He can’t take one step, or write one word, without it being interpreted in any number of different ways. He’s a bit tired of always being in the eye of the cyclone. He’s a 23-year-old lad who needs to grow and improve but the pressure on him is too great.”
On Monday morning the Milan and Italy forward issued an apology through the Italian FA, as Director General Antontello Valentini said: “Mario Balotelli offers his apologies to everyone at Mediaset and the cameraman.
“I watched the images with him and we have spoken about it. It was an act of impatience due to the large crowd. It was a moment of nervousness.”
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