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Ashton the Mario Balotelli of rugby, says Greenwood

The latest furore surrounding Chris Ashton has prompted former England international Will Greenwood to liken the wing to Mario Balotelli.

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The latest furore surrounding Chris Ashton has prompted former England international Will Greenwood to liken the wing to controversial footballer Mario Balotelli.

Saracens flier Ashton could be subjected to disciplinary action from the Rugby Football Union after he was accused of biting the hand of Northampton Saints prop Alex Waller in a Premiership fixture on Saturday.

Ashton missed last year's Six Nations due to a 10-week ban for making contact with an opponent's eye.

Referring to the 29-year-old's habit of finding himself "in situations he shouldn't get into", Greenwood suggested Ashton was similar to enigmatic Italian Balotelli, who famously unveiled a t-shirt with the words 'Why Always Me?' written on it after scoring for Manchester City in a 2011 derby against Manchester United.

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"He is an instinctive player and gets caught in daft situations," said Greenwood of Ashton.

"We have to find out exactly what's happened, but he's clickbait. Chris Ashton, people want to know what's going on, asking 'why is he always getting involved in this?'

"It's the Mario Balotelli [scenario] - someone give him a t-shirt, 'Why Always Me?'

"He just seems to attract those things. For all these incidents he's a really nice bloke.

"Now if you bite someone, you bite someone [and should be punished], but he's a really good lad and a really good rugby player."

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