Bernardo Silva charged over Benjamin Mendy tweet

London (AFP) – Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association over a controversial social media post comparing teammate Benjamin Mendy with a black cartoon character.

The Portuguese midfielder last month tweeted an image of a young Mendy alongside an image of the character representing the Spanish chocolate peanut brand Conguitos.

He deleted the post but has now been charged.

A statement from the football governing body on Wednesday read: “Bernardo Silva has been charged with misconduct for a breach of FA Rule E3 in relation to a social media post on September 22, 2019.

“It is alleged that the Manchester City player’s activity breaches FA Rule E3(1) as it was insulting and/or improper and/or brought the game into disrepute.”

Silva last week sent a letter to the Football Association to apologise for any offence caused by the tweet.

Included with the letter was a statement of support from France international Mendy, who said he had not taken offence at what his Portuguese teammate had posted.

City manager Pep Guardiola has also defended Silva.

Mendy and Silva have been teammates since 2016, having spent a year together at Monaco before they both moved to City the following year.