Gerrard Takes Swipe At Mario Balotelli

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard accused Mario Balotelli of being disrespectful after the controversial Italian striker snatched penalty-taking duties away from Jordan Henderson during Thursday’s 1-0 Europa League win over Besiktas.
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Gerrard was angry that Balotelli overruled Henderson when the stand-in Reds skipper tried to take an 85th-minute penalty in the last 32, first leg at Anfield.
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With the game goalless, Jordon Ibe won the spot-kick and England international Henderson appeared set to fulfil his role as the assigned penalty taker in the absence of the injured Gerrard.
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But Balotelli took the ball out of Henderson’s hands, prompting an exchange of words with the Liverpool midfielder before a visibly irritated Reds striker, Daniel Sturridge, arrived on the scene to protest on Henderson’s behalf.
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Ignoring their complaints, Balotelli, who has endured a difficult time at Liverpool since his move from AC Milan last year, didn’t seem bothered by the fuss as he deliberately stutter-stepped in his run-up before coolly stroking home the spot-kick.
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Balotelli has scored 27 of his 29 penalties for club and country throughout his career.
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However, Gerrard, watching from the ITV studio at Anfield in his role as a pundit, was unimpressed by Balotelli’s behaviour.
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“Jordan should have taken the penalty. Rules are rules. It should have been Henderson. Mario has been a bit mischievous,” Gerrard said on ITV.
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“Credit to Mario, he’s scored, but it’s not nice to see when footballers are arguing.
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“Jordan is the captain and Mario showed Jordan a bit of disrespect there, but he’s scored a very important goal.
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“I think six or seven players would have wanted to take that penalty so if they all say they are taking it, what happens then? Rules are in place for a reason.”
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Henderson admitted that he wanted to take the penalty, but he diplomatically tried to draw a line under the incident.
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“I wanted the penalty, Mario felt confident and he has taken big penalties before. Everyone wants to take them. I felt confident in Mario, he has taken big penalties before and he got the nod,” Henderson told ITV.