MANCHESTER City star Mario Balotelli was forced to leave the Trafford Centre this week, because he was wearing a hoodie.
The striker went shopping on Monday night and is believed to have worn the hoodie to prevent fans from recognising him.
But customers are banned from wearing their hoods up by centre bosses because their faces cannot be seen by CCTV cameras.
Balotelli was approached by security staff and asked to take down his hood because of the ban – and an Italian-speaking Trafford Centre worker also spoke to him because of the language barrier.
Balotelli told them that he would leave the centre rather than put his hood down, shaking their hands as he left.
A spokesman for the Trafford Centre said: “At 9.02pm on March 6 a customer at the Trafford Centre was approached by security staff, and advised that wearing a hooded-top covering the head is against centre policy. The customer was Italian, and native Italian-speaking staff were dispatched to converse with the customer.
“The gentleman decided that rather than take down his hood, he would prefer to leave the centre. He was polite and friendly throughout the encounter. The customer, who is believed to be a regular visitor to the Trafford Centre, then shook hands with our security staff and departed for his car.
“The Trafford Centre has worked hard to ensure that it consistently provides a safe, relaxed and friendly environment for our guests to enjoy. As part of this we have in place a guest code of conduct that helps maintain standards that are expected at The Trafford Centre. Further details of this policy can be found on our website.”
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