Is there a Bias from the Refs and FA?

Balotelli 99% done it on purpose ! You don't slam ur foot down like that for any other reason !

I think i agree with @Ktm_blues, remember Yaya Toure's misbehaviour against Mata, the FA did not even visit it!!

I can understand a ref taking 'previous' into consideration when judging a possible bad tackle. What I find totally unacceptable is the FA in the cold light of day, and with the benefit of 25 different camera angles in fast and slow replay, over three beers and a packet of crisps, being totally unable to recognise an elbow in the face! Another 'FA' decision....Fecking Awful!

KAKU you are absolutely right there is a clear bias in the way the refs and certainly the FA handle decisions. On the matter of two footed challenges just a week after the Vincent Kompany incident i watched a match between Wolves and i think WestBrom there was one classic incident of a clear two footed challenge and the player connected with the opponent..there was not even a card given or a foul. I saw another such incident over this weekend (i forget the match)..this was so blatant that the both commentators said they were shocked there wasnt even a foul called when they felt it should have warranted a red card and you know the strangest thing..the ref involved was good ol Chris Foy himself. There is absolutely not doubt that the FA and the refs are more lenient towards English players than they are to foriegners..KAKU you are the statistitician..you may want to look into this but i know it is not just in my mind..i have been watching British soccer for over 3 decades and i know its true but there is a more insidious thing going on and that is a clear preference for certain teams. We all know ManU are favored by the refs and the league but i now see a clear inquisition to undermine Mancity by any means possible..I am not a mancity fan..i am chelsea through and through but this is now becoming ridiculous..Compare what Mike Henry of Wolves did to Ballotelli...Henry showed clear deliberate intent but Ballotelli was undercut by Scott parker.. Scotts challenge was a foul and in trying to gain his feet while stumbling Balloteli stumbles and in trying to land upright catches Scotty who is behind him and on the ground..there was absolutely no malicious intent and immediately after the incident when Ballotelli realized he had caught Scotty he was the first person at his side checking to see if he was okay and helped him get up from the turf. I am not a Ballotelli fan boy..i just call it straight down center. Howard webb the true FA stooge who never called anything during the match (rightly so) with the public inquest from people like ol Harry, Gary Neville and Graeme Souness then changes tunes later with the intent of getting Ballotelli suspended 4 games..The boy is no saint but in this instance he has been tried in the court of public opinion based on his reputation rather than the facts and the reality. You watch the Lescott challenge and you would see that is a challenge where there was actually deliberate intent..Lescott sees where he is going and leads with his elbow...that should have been a yellow or even a red. Ballotelli is a convinient target because he is a foriegner but more importantly his loss for 4 games hurts city more than Lescotts. The whole thing is beyond ridiculous..Just ask yourself ..if the roles had been reversed and Ballotelli were on the ground and Scotty was the one who caught him while trying to regain his balance would we have seen this kind of inquisition? Honestly i have seen several times when the Ballotelli kid was clearly fouled by other players (invariably english) there would be not even be a whistle and people would slate him saying he needs to learn this is the BPL where we are physical not girls playing touch football and so he should just get up from the turf and get on with it..the double standards are just disgusting.

I'll echo mutters, not biast just inconsistent. There are so many issues surrounding footballing bodies these days I tend not to waste my time worrying about them.

Much as I can't stand the bloke and wouldn't tolerate him as a Manager for all his evident talent, I just can't see for a second how Balotelli's 'stamp' was intentional, nor how it can be proved as such. If it was intended, then it was his most outrageous piece of skill yet! He was falling and off balance, not once did he look to 'clock' where Parker's head was, I just can't see that he can have done it on purpose. As I say, I truly believe he is a nasty cock (and I'm not talking chickens!) of the highest order but I don't think he did this one! That said, Lescott's should have been a red without any shadow of a doubt and it will be a disgrace if he is not charged. Still, don't think any of it is due to referee bias, although maybe some players' reputations do precede them (and it's tough to sympathise if that's the case- you make your bed...!)! Inconsistent as mutters says but that's all, apart from Graham Poll who clearly had an agenda that he barely even bothered to hide. As for the FA, well they are just utterly incompetent, tell us something we don't know!

I also think that Lescott elbow was intentional while Ballotelli's supposed stomp was not. I also think that if you are England international a.k.a pride of the nation, it is natural for the refs to have some deference for you, not that it is right but I think it does exist.

It all depends with the mood of the ref and his understanding of the whole situation.