No appeal to Balotelli ban

Manchester City have failed to appeal the four-match ban given to Mario Balotelli after his stamp on Tottenham’s Scott Parker.

Although the Italian forward was not reprimanded during the match, he was banned after the FA reviewed video evidence and the club were given until 18.00GMT on Wednesday to appeal the charge.

This deadline was not met and therefore the controversial City striker will begin his ban immediately, ruling him out of Wednesday’s Carling Cup semi-final against Liverpool.

If his team-mates are able to overcome their 1-0 deficit from the first leg, Balotelli would be available to manager Roberto Mancini for the final at Wembley on February 26, after he sits out Premier League games against Everton, Fulham and Aston Villa.

The decision to hand Balotelli a suspension after he went unpunished at the time of the incident led the player’s agent to brand referee Howard Webb a coward for changing his mind.