Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli has been handed a one-match ban and fined 25,000 pounds by the Football Association (FA) on account of his Instagram post which appeared to contain anti-Semitic and racist references. The Italian striker, who will miss Sunday's home game against Arsenal, has also been told to attend an education course.
Balotelli said, on his Facebook page, he regretted that his teammates and supporters of Liverpool FC had to be penalised for something he had done and it was his intention to comply with the decision of the FA and would make sure it would never happen again.
In response of the suspension, a Liverpool spokesman said that the club acknowledged the decision reached by the FA independent panel and due consideration would be given to the written judgement once they receive it from the FA, the BBC reported. Earlier, the FA stated that Liverpool player had allegedly breached its rule E3 [1] as his social media post was abusive and/or insulting and/or improper.
The Italian striker posted an image of computer game character Super Mario on Instagram, which included the words "jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew."
Earlier, the Italian striker has apologized for the post, adding that it was meant to be anti-racist with humour and that he then understood it could have the opposite effect if said out of context.