Mario Balotelli is taking Manchester City to a Premier League tribunal to overturn a £340,000 club fine.
The controversial Italian striker will appear before an independent two-man panel in London on Wednesday after being docked two weeks’ wages by the champions.
Sunday Mirror Sport understands that City handed down the fine after deciding that Balotelli was guilty of a series of breaches of discipline.
But the 22-year-old believes that the punishment is unjust.
After failing with an appeal to the club’s hierarchy, he instructed his agent to pursue City through a tribunal.
If Balotelli loses his appeal, he faces paying the five-figure costs of the hearing, as well as the fine.
The £170,000-a-week forward clearly sees that as a gamble worth taking.
But he also risks alienating himself even further from the club.
City’s Abu Dhabi-based owners are worried that Balotelli is giving the Blues a bad image with his constant indiscretions – on and off the field.
Manager Roberto Mancini is also beginning to waver in his support for a player described as “unmanageable” by Jose Mourinho while at Inter Milan.
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