Spat spells bad news for more than Mario

The Manchester City futures of Mario Balotelli and, to a lesser extent, manager Roberto Mancini were again thrown into doubt yesterday as the pair became involved in yet another training-ground bust-up at the club’s Carrington base.

The incident, which is only the latest in a fractious relationship that has escalated into physical confrontation before, was sparked by a mistimed tackle from the player on team-mate Scott Sinclair.

Although witnesses said the challenge was not especially malicious, a surprisingly furious Mancini — who was also participating in the game — immediately sought to confront Balotelli with the two ultimately having to be separated. The forward eventually left the training field and departed the grounds 10 minutes later.