Tottenham and England star Dele Alli CHARGED by the FA with misconduct after making joke about the coronavirus outbreak while appearing to mock an Asian man
- Dele Alli landed himself in hot water after appearing to make light of coronavirus
- He filmed an Asian man and suggested he was scared of catching the virus
- The Tottenham star then took the video down and apologised for any offence
- The England international has been charged by the FA for his social media video
Dele Alli is facing a ban after he was charged by the Football Association for a controversial social media post in which he mocked a man over the coronavirus.
The Tottenham midfielder will almost certainly be instructed to attend an education course and be heftily fined by the FA as punishment.
But it is the prospect of a suspension that will concern Alli and Spurs the most, particularly given forwards Harry Kane and Son Heung-min are long-term injury casualties.
Dele Alli landed himself in hot water after posting an insensitive video about coronavirus
In the video, he appeared to mock an Asian man and snapped a picture of some handwash
The 23-year-old has since taken the video down, and then posted an apology video on Weibo
An FA statement confirmed: ‘Dele Alli has been charged with misconduct for a breach of FA Rule E3 in relation to a social media post.
‘It is alleged that the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder’s post breaches FA Rule E3(1) as it was insulting and/or improper and/or brought the game into disrepute.
‘It is further alleged that 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.’
The video was posted on a private forum and was not meant for public consumption, which could yet work in his favour as he looks to avoid a ban. He swiftly deleted the video before apologising twice.
Alli, who has until March 5 to respond to the charge, will not face the FA’s mandatory six-match ban for discriminatory conduct because the charge is not match-related.
The Tottenham star and England international whipped up the storm while on the winter break
In November, however, Manchester City star Bernardo Silva was banned for one game and fined £50,000 for a social media post in which he compared team-mate Benjamin Mendy to the character on a packet of Conguitos – a chocolate brand available in Spain and Portugal.
An FA commission accepted Silva did not intend to be ‘racist’, but still felt compelled to dish out the suspension given the connotations.
Alli, too, will maintain his post was not deliberately racist but rather an misjudged attempt at a joke. Silva’s previous ban, though, may provide the FA with a precedent.
The video in question showed a man of Asian descent with the caption: ‘Corona whatttttt, please listen with volume.’
In the next part of the Snapchat story, the midfielder wears a mask while appearing to feign concern. He then shows a bottle of handwash, accompanied by the caption: ‘This virus gunna have to be quicker than that to catch me.’