ROBERTO MANCINI is refusing to give up Manchester City’s title challenge. The Italian pointed to how Chelsea closed the gap to Manchester United from nine points with six games remaining of last season to three points when they played Alex Ferguson’s side three matches from the end of that campaign.

City are eight points behind United and are due to play them three matches from the close of the season. As the champions travel to Wigan Athletic this evening, City host West Bromwich Albion and Mancini said: “It’s not easy, but we need to think positively. I’m proud of all my players for what we did until today. We now need to continue to win to get the maximum points we can. Then we will see.

“I will never say we can’t win the league if there is still a chance. That is not my life, never. Also last year, six games to the end Chelsea were six or seven points [behind]. But they went to Manchester three games to the end three points behind.”

Mancini may be without midfielder Yaya Toure who is a doubt after limping out of the 1-0 loss at Arsenal on Sunday. David Silva, who missed that match with a knee problem, did train, Mancini added: “It’s [the title] not over. In football it’s never finished. For this reason, I believe always. But we did a fantastic season and we need to finish well.”

United could clinch their 20th championship at the Etihad Stadium during that derby but Mancini said of this prospect: “I don’t know this. I just know today we have 15 points more than we had at this stage last year.”

Meanwhile, striker Mario Balotelli will not face further punishment over a studs-up challenge on Arsenal’s Alex Song, the English Football Association yesterday confirmed.

It had been reported the controversial Italian risked having an automatic three-match ban for his unrelated sending off in Sunday’s loss at the Emirates Stadium extended to nine games. But the FA have said they cannot take additional retrospective action over his knee-high tackle on Song because it was seen by at least one of the four match officials.

A statement from the FA read: “Retrospective action in relation to the incident involving Mario Balotelli of Manchester City and Alex Song of Arsenal, which occurred in the 20th minute of Sunday’s game, will not be taken.

“Where at least one of the officials has seen the coming together of players retrospective action is not taken, regardless of whether they have seen the full extent of the challenge.

“Retrospective action can only be taken in scenarios where none of the match officials saw the players coming together.

“The normal scenarios in which retrospective action is taken are for ‘off-the-ball’ incidents.

“Retrospective action was introduced for off-the-ball incidents where there was no contest for possession and could not be deemed to be re-refereeing an incident.

“In agreement with Fifa, this is how ‘not seen’ incidents are dealt with retrospectively in England.

“It is a policy that is agreed with all football stakeholders.”

Had action been taken, a ban of nine games might have been calculated because the 21-year-old would effectively have then been sent off four times this season.

Balotelli was first dismissed at Liverpool in November and was then hit with a retrospective four-match ban for stamping on Tottenham’s Scott Parker in January.

Referee Martin Atkinson missed his challenge on Song but later dismissed him for two bookable fouls on Bacary Sagna.

Yet even though Balotelli could now be available for City’s final three Premier League games of the season – against Manchester United, Newcastle and QPR – his future at the club remains uncertain.

Manager Roberto Mancini said at the weekend he would “probably” sell the player in the summer as his controversial involvement at Arsenal was merely the latest in a long line of misdemeanours.

Mancini even suggested the FA should take retrospective action over the Song tackle. But Balotelli did apologise for his conduct yesterday in a statement in which he said a decision over his future would be made in the summer.

Guardian Service