Daniele De Rossi & Mario Balotelli at risk of exclusion from Italy squad following disciplinary problems – report

Daniele de Rossi – Italia (Getty Images)

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Daniele De Rossi and Mario Balotelli are both at risk of being excluded by Italy coach Cesare Prandelli when he announces his latest squad on Sunday.

De Rossi’s three-match ban in the Champions League has moved Prandelli to reconsider calling up the Roma midfielder for the Euro 2012 qualifier against Slovenia, and the subsequent friendly against Ukraine.

Ansa.it reports the punishment levelled at the Giallorossi star by UEFA for an elbow on Shakhtar Donetsk’s Darijo Srna last week is enough for Prandelli to consider excluding him, as it breaches the new code of ethics in place at Casa Azzurri, which states that players guilty of inappropriate or uncouth behaviour will not be called up to the team.

Manchester City star Balotelli’s place is also in threat, following his sending off against Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

The striker has since apologised to his club for the chest high challenge that saw him dismissed at Eastlands.