Mario
Balotelli's knack of attracting the wrong type of headlines shows no sign of
abating after the enigmatic forward was charged by the English Football
Association with racially stereotyping Jewish and black people in a social
media post.
The FA is
looking into Balotelli's reposting of a Nintendo character Super Mario image
that underneath had the words "jumps like a black man and grabs coins like
a jew."
"Mario
Balotelli has been charged by The FA in relation to a recent posting on social
media," read the statement. Continue....
"It
is alleged the Liverpool player breached FA Rule E3[1] in that his posting was
abusive and/or insulting and/or improper.
"It is further alleged that
this is an 'Aggravated Breach' as defined by FA Rule E3[2] as it included a
reference to ethnic origin and/or color and/or race and/or nationality and/or
religion or belief.
"The
player has until 6pm on 15 December 2014 to respond to the charge."
Balotelli
quickly deleted the Instagram image, before tweeting: "My Mom is jewish so
all of u shut up please," a reference to his foster mother, Silvia.
He
apologized Tuesday on Twitter explaining the post "was meant to
be anti-racist with humor."
He added:
"I now understand that out of context may have the opposite effect. Not
all Mexicans have mustaches, not all black people jump high and not all Jewish
people love money.
"I
used a cartoon done by someone else because it has Super Mario and I thought it
was funny and not offensive. Again, I'm sorry."
Liverpool
said they plan to speak to Balotelli, who has missed the club's last three
games due to a groin injury he picked up on international duty in November.
"We
are aware of the posting which has since been promptly deleted by the
player," said Liverpool in a statement.
However, former FA executive
Simon Johnson called on the FA to punish the 24-year-old Balotelli.
"We
abhor all forms of racism, wherever it is found," Johnson, who is the
current chief executive of the UK Jewish Leadership Council, told the Daily Telegraph.
"We
call upon the FA to investigate this offensive social media post and to take
action if appropriate if we are to succeed in kicking racism out of
football."
Playing
iIn Italy, Balotelli frequently faced racist abuse in stadiums, while in
September Merseyside police investigated racist remarks on Twitter made to
Balotelli after he posted a message during Manchester United's 5-3 defeat
against Leicester City.
Balotelli
has yet to score a Premier League goal since joining Liverpool from AC Milan in
the summer transfer window, though he did find the net against Ludogorets in
the Champions League as well as against Swansea in the English League Cup.
The
minimum ban for race-related rule breaches is five games under the FA's social
media guidelines.
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