Manchester United and Arsenal fans hijack Liverpool's Player of the Year ballot: Vote Mario Balotelli

 

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Controversy: Balotelli snatches a penalty away from Henderson
GETTY
Tom Farmery15 April 2015

Liverpool fans are being asked to vote for their Player of the Year on the club's official website - but the club's media team have left the vote open to the general public.

Reds fans are asked to enter an email address and select the most deserving player from a drop-down list. But at no point are supporters asked to prove they follow Liverpool - and rival fans are having a field day.

The hashtag #VoteBalotelli has since been created and both Manchester United and Arsenal supporters have taken to social media urging fellow supporters to help hijack the poll.

Balotelli has had a difficult start to life at Anfield since joining in the summer, scoring one Premier League goal and getting caught up in a handful of controversies.

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The Italian snatched the ball off acting captain Jordan Henderson and assumed penalty-taking duties in the late stages of a Europa League match earlier this year and was also caught up in an anti-Semitic storm following a contentious Instagram post.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">Funny think about this <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VoteBalotelli?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-65601-https://twitter.com/hashtag/VoteBalotelli?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#VoteBalotelli</a> stuff is he'd actually think he deserved it if he won. — Adam McKola (@AdamMcKola) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/AdamMcKola/status/588033737482493952" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-65601-https://twitter.com/AdamMcKola/status/588033737482493952" data-vars-event-id="c23">April 14, 2015</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">Just voted for Balotelli as Liverpool's player of the season! <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LFC?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-65601-https://twitter.com/hashtag/LFC?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#LFC</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VoteBalotelli?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-65601-https://twitter.com/hashtag/VoteBalotelli?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#VoteBalotelli</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=9&amp;id=222025&amp;p=http://t.co/0qwXZTRoDP" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-65601-http://t.co/0qwXZTRoDP" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/0qwXZTRoDP</a>— JustRedDevils (@JustRedDevils) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/JustRedDevils/status/587941900671438848" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-65601-https://twitter.com/JustRedDevils/status/587941900671438848" data-vars-event-id="c23">April 14, 2015</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">If previous Arsenal online antics are anything to go by, I fully expect Balotelli to be our next Prime Minister come May 7th. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VoteBalotelli?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-65601-https://twitter.com/hashtag/VoteBalotelli?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#VoteBalotelli</a>— Daley (@DaleyAFC) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/DaleyAFC/status/587969949794181121" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-65601-https://twitter.com/DaleyAFC/status/587969949794181121" data-vars-event-id="c23">April 14, 2015</a>

The online poll comes after Millwall fans were asked to vote for their new away kit earlier this season and supporters of local clubs Crystal Palace, West Ham and Chelsea fans jumped online to nominate a garish pink strip.

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