LONDON: Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli was charged by the Football Association on Friday for re-posting a message on Instagram that contained racist and anti-Semitic references. <\/p>\n
Balotelli appeared to endorse an image of computer game character Super Mario on the social media website which included the words \"jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew\". The post was titled \"Don't be a racist\" and continued: \"Be like Mario. He's an Italian plumber, created by Japanese people, who speaks English and looks like a Mexican.\" <\/p>\n
The FA announced in a statement: \"Mario Balotelli has been charged by the FA in relation to a recent posting on social media. It is alleged the Liverpool player breached FA rule E3 (1) in that his posting was abusive and\/or insulting and\/or improper. It is further alleged that this is an 'aggravated breach' as defined by FA rule E3 (2) as it included a reference to ethnic origin and\/or colour and\/or race and\/or nationality and\/or religion or belief.\" <\/p>\n
Balotelli deleted the post following criticism from other social media users, but after the FA confirmed it was looking into the matter, he wrote on Twitter: \"I apologise if I've offended anyone. <\/p>\n
\"The post was meant to be anti-racist with humour. I now understand that out of context (it) may have the opposite effect. Not all Mexicans have moustache, not all black people jump high and not all Jewish people love money. 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
Balotelli, who has been a victim of racism throughout his career, initially defended himself against accusations of anti-Semitism, tweeting: \"My Mom is jewish so all of u shut up please.\" The 24-year-old, born in Italy to Ghanaian parents and then adopted by an Italian family, also described his decision to repost the image as \"my unlucky moment\". <\/p>\n
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Football: Balotelli charged over 'racist' post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" LONDON: Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli was charged by the Football Association on Friday for re-posting a message on Instagram that contained racist and anti-Semitic references. Continue reading