Steven Gerrard: Mario Balotelli Disrespected Jordan Henderson On Penalty Kick

Steven Gerrard didn’t need to be in the thick of the action to determine Mario Balotelli was wrong to do what he did.

Gerrard accused Balotelli of disrespecting Jordan Henderson and breaking Liverpool’s rules Thursday in the aftermath of the Reds’ 1-0 win over Besiktas in the UEFA Europa League, according to the Liverpool Echo.

Gerrard, who was working as a pundit for British television station ITV, looked on as Jordon Ibe won a late penalty kick for Liverpool. Henderson was Liverpool’s designated penalty-kick taker (in Gerrard’s injury-enforced absence), but Balotelli stepped in, took the ball from the vice-captain and scored the game-winning goal from the spot.

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Gerrard spoke frankly about the incident after the game.

“Mario is being a bit mischievous by stepping in front of him and going against what the manager’s plan was before the game,” Gerrard said. “But credit to him, he’s finished the penalty off -– but it would have been very interesting in that dressing room if he had missed the penalty.

“For me, rules are rules and codes are codes. When a manager selected a penalty taker, that player takes it, so it should have been Henderson. Fair play to Mario, he was terrific when he came on, he helped change the game in Liverpool’s favor, and with pressure on his shoulders, he slotted it away very well, and it’s a big goal for us.”

“Jordan is the captain, Mario would have seen it on the board that Jordan was on the penalty, and he showed Jordan a little bit of disrespect there. But we’ve got away with it.

“I think around the team six or seven people would have wanted to take the penalty — so what if six or seven are all fighting around the penalty spot? It doesn’t look right.”

Gerrard also added that he would have taken the penalty kick if he was on the field before praising Henderson for handling the situation well.