Football
Mike Whalley 9y

Liverpool accept Mario Balotelli ban, striker to miss Arsenal clash

LIVERPOOL -- Mario Balotelli will miss Sunday's Premier League match against Arsenal after Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said there would be no appeal against the striker's one-match ban.

Balotelli, 24, was suspended for one game, fined 25,000 pounds and told to attend an education course by the Football Association after he posted an image on Instagram that appeared to contain anti-Semitic and racist references.

The Italy international had shared a picture of the Nintendo character Super Mario, with a headline that read "Don't be racist," and text that added: "Be like Mario, he's an Italian plumber, created by Japanese people, who speaks English and looks like a Mexican. He jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew."

Balotelli deleted the post and has since apologised twice -- once on Twitter and once on his Facebook page -- and Rodgers said: "We'll accept the ban, so it's fairly clear."

The forward may have been struggling to face Arsenal anyway having played only 45 minutes of football since Nov. 8 because of a groin problem, and missed Wednesday's 3-1 Capital One Cup quarterfinal win at Bournemouth.

Balotelli has yet to score a Premier League goal since arriving from AC Milan in a 16 million-pound deal in August, and his long-term Anfield future is in doubt just four months into his three-year contract.

Rodgers has generally tried to avoid criticising Balotelli in public, but declined an opportunity to defend him at a news conference on Friday.

Asked if he thought the former Manchester City forward was showing signs of maturing, the manager said: "That's for you to write. He's here as a football player, and he's trying to become a better player."

Balotelli's absence means that Raheem Sterling is likely to continue in a central striking role, having scored twice against Bournemouth.

Sterling was at the centre of a controversy in October when he was left on England's bench for a Euro 2016 qualifier in Estonia after telling manager Roy Hodgson that he was tired.

No Liverpool player has made more Premier League starts than Sterling this season, though, and Rodgers feels any criticism thrown the player's way is unjustified.

He said: "Raheem's an outstanding talent and he's been great for us. It's incredible, the stick that the kid has received. People are trying to criticise and put the focus on him.

"But he's been outstanding for us. It was another great performance the other night in a difficult game against Bournemouth."

Centre-back Dejan Lovren limped out of the Bournemouth win with a groin problem, but is in with a chance of facing Arsenal.

Rodgers added: "We're waiting to hear on Dejan. We hope he'll be fine, but we'll assess that before the weekend."

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