Dele Alli: Tottenham midfielder to miss Manchester United clash through suspension
Dele Alli will miss Tottenham’s return to Premier League action with Manchester United next week after the FA handed him a one-game suspension for a social media post.
The 24-year-old has also been fined £50,000 and ordered to undertake a face-to-face education course following a breach of FA Rule E3.
The incident relates to a video posted on his Snapchat account in February as he appeared to mock an Asian man and joked about the COVID-19 (C19) pandemic.
“In response to the FA decision, I would like to apologise again for any offence caused by my behaviour,” Alli said in a statement to the club’s website.
“It was an extremely poorly judged joke about a virus that has now affected us more than we could ever have imagined. I’m grateful that The FA has confirmed that my actions were not racist because I despise racism of any kind.
“We all need to be mindful of the words and actions we use and how they can be perceived by others.”
Alli removed the video and issued an apology in February, saying the matter “isn’t something that should be joked about” and that he “let myself down and the club”.
Though Jose Mourinho, Spurs boss defended Alli for showing “remarkable humility” in his apology, and said, “the last thing that Dele is, is anything connected with racism or disrespect.”
“The player denied that a social media posts breached FA Rule E3(1), as it was insulting and/or improper and/or brought the game into disrepute, and constituted an “Aggravated Breach” as it included a reference, whether express or implied, to race and/or colour and/or ethnic origin and/or nationality,” an FA statement read on Thursday.
“However, it was subsequently found proven by an Independent Regulatory Commission.”
The FA’s guidelines around media comments and social media posts remind participants that it will consider charges under Rule E3 if it is felt that someone has acted in an improper manner or brings the game into disrepute.
Ayooluwa Joshua