The agent of AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli says his client has been made a "scapegoat" for Italy's World Cup failure.
Raiola insists Italy's problems run deeper than one individual.
"Winning the 2006 World Cup disguised the real problems in Italian football and today they are doing the same thing with Balotelli. You talk about him and therefore hide the real problems," slammed Raiola.
"It irritated me to see all the blame dumped on to a 23-year-old. It annoyed me and I don't think this would've happened anywhere else in the world.
"I made a mistake in bringing Mario back to Italy."
