Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has nothing to be ashamed of this time.

On many occasions in his short career, Balotelli has been the target of criticism that followed his bad behaviour on and off the field of play. During his Inter days in Italy, and now in Manchester, the young striker has often made the headlines – not only for scoring crucial goals, but also for his unorthodox actions.

The most recent was his altercation with Manchester United captain Rio Ferdinand at the end of the FA Cup semi-final clash, which City won 1-0. Before that, he was fined by his club for having thrown darts at junior players, explaining his gesture as a way out of boredom. And there were several other instances in the past when Balotelli was rapped for his behaviour.

Recently, he was also criticised by Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, who said that the Italian player should “smile more”. It was bemusing that this suggestion came from someone who is grim-faced and acts as if he were at a funeral even if his team is winning 4-0. Has anyone ever seen Redknapp smile? This shows that, for some people, Balotelli can do nothing right.

But, earlier this week, Balotelli was in the news for a different – and altogether positive – story. Having won 25,000 pounds in a casino, he gave 1,000 pounds to a tramp who was outside the building when he was leaving.

Cynics have suggested that, given his salary, Balotelli should have given all his winnings to the man or donated the lot to charity. But, on the other hand, one must not belittle the gesture. It would have been easy for Balotelli to ignore the tramp who walked up to him, but, instead, he took his time to stop and pass on some of the money to someone less fortunate. It was peanuts for Balotelli, but a treasure for the tramp.

Just as much as he was rightly reprimanded for other forms of behaviour that were not consonant with the life of a professional footballer, Balotelli should be commended for what he did this week.

It is hoped that this will be the first of many times that Balotelli makes the news for something positive. No one questions his talents on the field – but he needs to keep his temper in check and avoid silly behaviour.