posts image about gaming
character Super Mario who 'jumps
like a black man and grabs coins like
a Jew'
Mario Balotelli, the Liverpool striker,
faces a Football Association
investigation and possible five-
match ban for an inflammatory
social media message that has
earned him a public rebuke from his
club and an angry response from
the Jewish Leadership Council.
Balotelli posted and then swiftly
deleted an image on his Instagram
page depicting the computer game
character 'Super Mario' alongside a
racial stereotype and anti-Semitic
remark – "jumps like a black man
and grabs coins like a Jew".
Simon Johnson, the former FA
executive and now chief executive
of the Jewish Leadership Council
reacted angrily to post on Monday
night.
"We abhor all forms of racism,
wherever it is found," Johnson 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."
The provocative language in
Balotelli's post, even if he claims it
to be an ironic anti-racist message,
leaves the Italian open to a breach
of the FA's social media guidelines.
If charged, the minimum ban on
race-related breaches is five games.
At the very least, the striker has had
to explain his intentions to his club
and the swiftness with which it was
removed demonstrated Liverpool
concerns. The FA is sure to explore it
further.
"We are aware of the posting which
has since been promptly deleted by
the player," a Liverpool spokesman
said on Monday evening. "We will be
speaking to the player about the
issue."
Balotelli tried to defend his actions
on Twitter. "My Mom is jewish so all
of u shut up please," he wrote.
FA rules are clear that players are
also responsible for any third-party
postings on their account, even if
they are attempting to demonstrate
the racial attitudes of others.
FA Rule E3 states: "Participants are
deemed responsible for any
postings on their account. The fact
that a posting may have been made
by a third party will not necessarily
prevent disciplinary action being
taken. ?In addition, re-tweeting
another person's posting may lead
to disciplinary action if the original
comment was improper. ?Finally,
deleting an inappropriate posting,
whilst advisable, does not
necessarily prevent disciplinary
action being taken."
The governing body would also
determine the context of such a
posting, even though Balotelli may
have been mocking racial
stereotypes – he has been the
subject of horrific abuse throughout
his career – rather than advocating
the message in the illustration.
The FA would fully assess this prior
to determining whether further
action is required, although plenty
of players have fallen foul of the
pitfalls of using social media in
recent season.
Rio Ferdinand was fined and banned
for three games for a tweet
referencing gender this season,
having earlier incurred the FA's
wrath for appearing to endorse
someone's else's offensive tweet
regarding Ashley Cole.
Mario Balotelli's Instagram post
(since deleted)
Balotelli's post comes soon after
Dave Whelan, the Wigan Athletic
chairman, claimed in an interview
that "Jews do chase money", a
phrase that, along with his belief
that "chink" is not an offensive
description of a Chinese person,
resulted in an FA charge.
For Liverpool, there is also the issue
of Balotelli providing yet another
distraction on the eve of an
important fixture.
The 24-year-old did not travel with
his team mates to Leicester ahead
of their Premier League meeting,
and club officials acted promptly
when informed of the Instagram
post.
Since moving to Anfield, Balotelli
has continued to find himself
courting attention for the wrong
reasons – often inadvertently.
Although it remains to be seen if
further action will be taken due to
his use of social media, the
incidents are starting to pile up as
the club determines whether to
retain him for the long term.
If he is charged by the FA, he will
not only face a club fine but it will
ensure – as per the clauses in his
contract – he receives a reduced
salary from his club.
An FA spokesman said it was aware
of the situation and would be
looking into it before determining
whether to take any further action.
A spokesperson for Kick It Out said:
"Kick It Out has been made aware of
Mario Balotelli's Instagram post by a
Twitter user and has now forwarded
on to the FA to look into the matter."
Posted By David Aniemeka
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