Mario Balotelli has apologised for a post on social media which provoked claims of racism and anti-semitism. <\/p>\n
The Liverpool striker shared an image from the computer game 'Super Mario' on his Instagram page on Monday which included the comment \"jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew\". <\/p>\n
The image of Super Mario - with whom Balotelli shares a nickname - appeared with the heading \"Don't be a racist\". The text then read: \"Be like Mario. He's an Italian plumber, created by Japanese people, who speaks English and looks like a Mexican,\" before the final line, which led to a storm of criticism. <\/p>\n
Balotelli quickly deleted the post before defending himself on Twitter by writing: \"My Mom is jewish so all of u shut up please\". <\/p>\n
But he took to Twitter again on Tuesday morning to issue a full apology after the FA confirmed it is launching an investigation. <\/p>\n
\"I apologise if I've offended anyone,\" he wrote. \"The post was meant to be anti-racist with humour. I now understand that out of context may have the opposite effect. <\/p>\n
\"Not all Mexicans have moustache, not all black people jump high and not all Jewish people love money. <\/p>\n
\"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.\" <\/p>\n
Despite the apology, Balotelli could still be charged by the Football Association, with a spokesman for the governing body confirming it is looking into the post. <\/p>\n
Under their social media guidelines, the minimum ban for race-related breaches of rules is five games. <\/p>\n
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Balotelli issues apology for posting controversial image but Liverpool striker still facing FA rap<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mario Balotelli has apologised for a post on social media which provoked claims of racism and anti-semitism. The Liverpool striker shared an image from the computer game 'Super Mario' on his Instagram page on Monday which included the comment \"jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew\". The image of Super Mario - with whom Balotelli shares a nickname - appeared with the heading \"Don't be a racist\" Continue reading