Mario Balotelli strange things". In 2010, he was photographed in the company of two noted Mafia mobsters. Balotelli gained a cult following after joining Manchester City. Manchester City supporters regularly sang a song with lyrics which made reference to his activities. Musician Tinchy Stryder recorded a song in Balotelli's honour, "Mario Balotelli". Balotelli has been the subject of numerous newspaper stories since joining Manchester City; some have been confirmed as true while others have turned out to be erroneous. Within days of joining Manchester City, Balotelli was involved in a car crash. It was reported Balotelli was carrying £5,000 cash at the
Mario Balotelli goal and was subsequently sent off minutes later in stoppage time after receiving a second, controversial yellow card following an altercation with Lorient's Steven Moreira, where neither player appeared to do anything wrong. Balotelli's red card was rescinded four days later after referee Olivier Thual's admission he had made a mistake in showing Balotelli the second yellow card and the French Football League's Disciplinary Commission decided to annul his second yellow card, thus allowing him to be available for the following league match. On 21 December, he received his first official red card in a Nice shirt in a 0–0