Mario Balotelli Blasted by Paul Parker, Liverpool Urged to Sell 'Stupid' Striker

Mario Balotelli has long been one of the world's most controversial football players, and former Manchester United defender Paul Parker believes he should pay the price for his latest misstep.

The Italian star has yet to score an EPL goal in his first season at Liverpool since making the jump from A.C. Milan. In addition to that, he has been criticized for what some consider to be a racist Instagram post, according to BBC.

In a column for Eurosport, Parker wrote that Balotelli should be suspended and that the Reds should severe ties with him as soon as possible.

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Mario Balotelli just cannot keep himself out of trouble. His stupid post on social media should see him banned by the Football Association but his ongoing behavior could have even more serious consequences for his club and manager.

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He is an individual, not a team player. And if he isn't even producing anything as an individual player then something has to give. And I think Liverpool have to get rid of Balotelli, as early as January if anyone will have him.

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Balotelli is currently under investigation by the Football Association due to his post on social media. Per BBC, the 24-year-old striker regrets the post and didn't intend to promote racism in any way.

"I apologize if I've offended anyone," he said. "The post was meant to be anti-racist with humor. I now understand that out of context it may have the opposite effect."

The Professional Footballers Association has commented on the post, condemning it as well:

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The situation regarding Mario Balotelli's Instagram post reinforces the need for continued education and highlights how vigilant players need to be in all of their dealings with social media.

We strongly condemn all discriminatory language used in any context.

We are working with clubs and The FA to ensure players are aware of the impact of inappropriate and unacceptable language regardless of the forum.

Our club meetings and Senior Player Diversity Programmes serve to educate and inform our members in the areas of equality and diversity with a strong emphasis on the misuse of language.

The matter is now with The FA for investigation under a disciplinary system that the PFA has approved in conjunction with all the other football stakeholders.

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Former footballer and current analyst Gary Lineker is among those who believe that Balotelli had no ill intent:

With that said, he is still subject to an investigation and may very well have to accept a ban.

Due to his ineffective play this season, however, it likely won't have much of an impact on Liverpool. What it could do, though, is damage his transfer value even more.

It already looks as though the Balotelli experiment is a failure for manager Brendan Rodgers and the Reds, so Parker's call for a sale likely has a solid chance of coming to fruition.

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