ENGLISH LEAGUE CUP:ROBERTO MANCINI has become the first opposition manager to question Liverpool's handling of the Luis Suarez affair and express concerns about the length of time it took for someone found guilty of racial insults to issue an apology.

The Manchester City manager was speaking ahead of the first leg of their League Cup tie against a Liverpool side missing Suarez for an eight-match suspension for calling Patrice Evra “negro” during a heated row when Manchester United played at Anfield in October.

Mancini was asked whether Liverpool’s manager, Kenny Dalglish, and players had made a mistake by wearing their now infamous T-shirts in support of Suarez, just after the English FA’s independent commission had announced its verdict. He was nodding in agreement as he replied “maybe” and he then voiced his belief that Suarez should have issued an immediate apology.

“Sometimes a situation like this can happen on the pitch but it is important to apologise for what you did. Sometimes, on the pitch, you can do something you don’t want to, because you are nervous, because you don’t think. Everything can happen because you don’t think, because you are tired, because you are stupid, you are young; for many reasons.

“I don’t think Suarez is a racist. But I think he made a mistake, probably, yes. Everyone can make a mistake sometimes. It is impossible that we are always perfect and, after that, it is important to say: ‘I am sorry, I made a mistake, I apologise for this’ and accept the charge.”

The City manager went on to draw a parallel with his own playing career in Italy, where football has had a long battle against racism. “I have heard everything said against me and I have said some things – but not important things like racist words.”

Mancini was speaking on the day it emerged a representative from Liverpool could be summoned when the British culture, media and sport select committee holds a specially convened inquiry into racism in football.

An evidence session has been scheduled for March 6th and the committee member Damian Collins said: “I think the events of the last two weeks have reignited concerns about racism in the game. Although this session will not necessarily be restricted to football it will be the principal area of inquiry following the Suarez case and the concerns that have arisen from that.”

Steve Rotheram, the MP for Liverpool Walton, has been pushing for the inquiry at a time when the Anfield club have also had to issue an apology to the Oldham Athletic defender Tom Adeyemi after he complained of being racially abused during Friday’s FA Cup tie on Merseyside.

Whereas the reluctance to accept Suarez’s culpability and apologise to Evra has led to widespread condemnation throughout the game, Oldham have released a statement to make it clear they are happy with Liverpool’s “painstaking efforts in investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident”.

A 20-year-old man is on police bail pending further inquiries and the League One club also praised Merseyside police, adding: “Excellent communication has been maintained and the club and player have been notified of every detail during the progress of the investigation.”

The issue of racism in football has also been in the spotlight because of the England captain John Terry’s court appearance on February 1st for allegedly insulting Anton Ferdinand during Chelsea’s match at Queens Park Rangers in October.

Meanwhile, Mario Balotelli believes Mancini is a better manager than Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho.

Both men have been major influences on the 21-year-old’s career, Mancini first at Inter Milan, now at Manchester City, and Mourinho during the spell in between.

Although Balotelli’s quirky character has made for tempestuous relationships with the pair of top managers, the 21-year-old is happy with the manner in which they have pushed him forward.

However, pushed to choose between them, the striker opts for Mancini, who treats Balotelli with kid gloves at times, whilst at others condemning him in the fiercest manner possible.

“Mourinho? Among the best,” he told Italian magazine L’Uomo Vogue. “On a personal level I would say Mancini and then Mourinho. A coach has to bring 100 per cent out of a player and Mancini is brilliant at doing just that.”

Guardian Service