Mario Balotelli and work-rate, inconsistency, mentality, and volatile temperament and arrogant behaviour on the pitch, which has often led him to pick up unnecessary bookings throughout his career. Balotelli has also been accused of diving, and is thus regarded by teammates and the media as a promising but undisciplined player. Due to his powerful shot, Balotelli is also a set-piece specialist, and is regarded as one of the best penalty kick takers in world football, a view backed by his former Manchester City goalkeeping teammate Joe Hart. Balotelli missed his first competitive penalty against Napoli on 22 September 2013 when it was
Mario Balotelli was interviewed by a newspaper about racism amongst fans in the host countries. During the interview, Balotelli reiterated his threat to walk off the pitch if any of the opposition fans racially abused him in any way, and said that he would "kill" anyone that threw a banana at him. He spoke about his increasing fears that black players would be targeted by racists and that he refused to accept racism in any form, talking of his past experience of racism in football, notably during his time playing in Serie A for Internazionale. During the build-up to the competition, Manchester