Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli has been suspended for one match by the Football Association over his social media post mocking an Asian man and coronavirus.
Alli, 24, put a video on Snapchat in February in which he joked about the outbreak and appeared to mock an Asian man.
The Tottenham star has been at the centre of an FA investigation over the video and will now miss his team’s match against Manchester United on Friday after disciplinary chiefs slammed the midfielder with a one match suspension and £50,000 fine.
The England international has also been ordered to undertake an education course.
He will miss Spurs’ match at home to Manchester United on 19 June.
Alli posted a video showing a man of Asian descent with the caption; ‘Corona whatttttt, please listen with volume.’
In the next part of the Snapchat video, the midfielder wore a mask while appearing to feign concern. He then showed a bottle of handwash, accompanied by the caption: ‘This virus gunna have to be quicker than that to catch me.’
Alli deleted the video within minutes of posting it and apologised twice, nevertheless the FA have deemed the footage to have racial connotations.
In a statement, Alli said;
In response to the FA decision, I would like to apologise again for any offence caused by my behaviour. It was an extremely poorly judged joke about a virus that has now affected us more than we could ever have imagined.
I am grateful that the FA has confirmed that my actions were not racist because I despise racism of any kind. We all need to be mindful of the words and actions we use and how they can be perceived by others.
More than 41,000 people have died with coronavirus in the UK, and more than 416,000 worldwide.
