MARIO BALOTELLI was condemned by a leading anti-knife campaign group last night - after turning up for training wearing a T-shirt that glorifies violence.
Manchester City's Italian striker started the new season yesterday just as he finished the last one - at the centre of controversy. His top showed a pistol, machine gun, knife and a girl's bleeding mouth and earned him a warning to start behaving like an adult.
Gary Trowsdale, managing director of the Damilola Taylor Trust, said: "This kind of thing is reprehensible but it doesn't surprise me. "Not long ago we heard about Nile Ranger of Newcastle holding a gun for a photo on Facebook. Then there's been Joey Barton's behaviour.
"What I want to know is where does it all end? These young guys are meant to be role models for the kids growing up. I grew up watching Chelsea in the Peter Osgood era and things like this were unheard of.
"These players get paid an awful lot of money, thousands of us pay a lot to go and watch them every week and pay those wages.
"The least we expect in return is for them to behave like responsible adults. But it doesn't surprise me and what I want to know is what their union chief Gordon Taylor will do about it.
"It's something that needs to be looked at. It's easy for us to condemn young players for doing it but the PFA need to do something." Damilola was just a few days short of his 11th birthday when he died from a stab wound in Peckham in 2000.
Just before moving to England last summer, Balotelli, 20, was stopped by police after firing a toy pistol in Milan city centre. The Ł24million ace was also in hot water for throwing a dart at a youth team player at City's training ground in March.
And during his summer break this year he was accused of glamourising the Mafia by visiting one of the strongholds of the Camorra - a Naples-based criminal organisation.
On the pitch he was in bother, too, notably when a red card in a Europa League match against Dynamo Kiev almost certainly cost City their place in the competition.
He was axed from the Italian national team and ordered to improve his behaviour by the president of his country's FA.
Source: thesun.co.uk
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