Silva ban fear
the FA yesterday after appearing to compare his friend to the character on a packet of Conguitos – a chocolatecovered peanut snack available in Spain and Portugal.
It is claimed Silva, 25, committed an “aggravated breach” of FA rules as it included reference “expressed or implied, to race and/or colour and/ or ethnic origin”.
The Portugal international has until Wednesday to respond and, while City have refused to comment, he is expected to request a personal hearing.
If found guilty he could be hit with a large fine or a suspension of up to six games, although three would be a more likely sanction.
A regulatory commission will decide the punishment.
The post was published on September 22, but was deleted within an hour with Silva then tweeting that he “can’t even joke with a friend these days”. FA bosses contacted the Premier League champions asking for their observations, with Silva writing to them expressing his regret that his post may have caused unintentional offence.
Mendy also wrote to the FA in support of Silva, insisting he had not been upset by it.
But the FA have come under pressure to act following a series of racist incidents.
Anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out criticised the post and urged the FA to act, adding that “racist stereotypes are never acceptable as banter”.
Meanwhile, City star Raheem Sterling insists it is just a matter of time before the club are kings of Europe.
He scored one and created another in the 2-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday.
And he said: “The most important things is to qualify from this group. If we keep doing that, the better chance we will have.”