Mario Balotelli in hot water again over 'racist and anti-Semitic' Instagram blunder
FA investigating after Liverpool striker reposts potentially offensive picture
Liverpool forward Mario Balotelli is to be investigated by the Football Association (FA) for a potentially racist and anti-Semitic social media post.
The Italian reposted a picture of the video game character Super Mario, saying he "jumped like a black man and grabbed coins like a Jew". He later deleted it from his Instagram page.
Today, he apologised on Twitter.
“We are aware of the posting which has since been promptly deleted by the player,” a Liverpool spokesman said. “We will be speaking to the player about the issue.”
Former FA executive Simon Johnson, who is the chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, said the 24-year-old should be punished.
“We abhor all forms of racism, wherever it is found,” he said.
“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.”