London (AFP) – Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association over a social media post related to the coronavirus outbreak.
Alli posted a video on Snapchat in relation to the deadly virus, while also singling out an Asian man in an airport prior to going on holiday during Spurs’ winter break.
An FA statement read: “The post constitutes an “Aggravated Breach”, which is defined in FA Rule E3(2), as it included a reference, whether express or implied, to race and/or colour and/or ethnic origin and/or nationality.”
Alli quickly deleted the post and apologised.
“It wasn’t funny and I realised that immediately and took it down. I let myself down and the club,” Alli said in a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
However, an aggravated breach of the FA’s regulations can be punished with up to six-game ban.
Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva was handed just a one-match suspension and a £50,000 fine for a Twitter post comparing teammate Benjamin Mendy to a cartoon earlier this season.
Alli has until March 5 to respond to the FA.
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho believes Alli’s remorse should mean he escapes a suspension.
“I feel that (a ban) would be unnecessary, but in relation to these decisions, I am nobody,” said Mourinho earlier this month.
“I think it is unnecessary because the player understands the naivety of the situation, the player is a good guy, the player even in the dressing room has a big Asian friend (Son Heung-min) that he loves.”
