ALLI FACES FA BAN
Spurs star in the dock over video mocking killer virus
DeLe aLLi is facing a ban after the Fa opened an investigation into his social media video that made jokes about the coronavirus outbreak.
The Tottenham and england midfielder, 23, is also set to be reprimanded by his club when he returns to training tomorrow. But it is the prospect of a ban that will most concern alli, who has issued two apologies for the inappropriate video.
The Fa have written to alli asking for his observations and the level of any punishment depends on whether the governing body rule his post was racist or merely offensive.
another consideration for the Fa will be whether the post was meant for public consumption. alli posted the video on his private snapchat account, which can only be accessed by people he has verified.
However, the video in question was leaked to the Daily Star
Sunday, and Football against racism in europe executive director Piara Powar said last night: ‘at the very least it’s a deeply insensitive joke. The Fa are right to investigate and potentially take action.’
The Fa are likely to take into account their decision last week to charge Port vale striker Tom Pope, who is accused of anti-semitism over tweets linking the rothschilds to ‘every bank on the planet’.
manchester City’s Bernardo silva was banned for one game and fined £50,000 in November
for a post in which he compared team-mate Benjamin Mendy to the cartoon character used by chocolate brand Conguitos.
An FA commission accepted Bernardo had not intended to be racist, but still suspended him. The posts by Pope and Bernardo were made on Twitter, which is a public forum.
Alli posted the private video on Saturday. It showed a man of Asian descent alongside the caption: ‘Corona whattttt, 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.’
Having already said sorry, on Sunday, Alli posted a second apology on Chinese social media site Weibo.
Nevertheless, Alli and Spurs are bracing themselves for FA sanctions. Alli has been in excellent form since the arrival of Jose Mourinho. He had been tipped for an England recall for next month’s friendlies against Italy and Denmark, but any FA punishment could hit his hopes.
Alli, who has been taking genuine precautions against the killer virus while on holiday over the winter break, removed the video after two minutes, apparently realising his error of judgment.
A spokesperson for Kick It Out said: ‘We were disappointed to see the video. However, we are pleased that Dele has acknowledged his mistake and apologised.’ A 12-YEAR-OLD boy has been charged in connection with racist chants towards Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos at Celtic Park on December 29.