Manchester City welcome Chelsea in the English Premier League this weekend but the Citizens will be without the services of Bernardo Silva.
The Portuguese international has been a standout player for City so far this season having scored five goals and made 2 assists in 11 Premier League games.
But the player recently got into a controversy when he posted a “racist” tweet about teammate Benjamin Mendy. And now the Football Association has fined him £50,000 and suspended him for one match meaning he will miss this weekend’s clash vs Chelsea.
Bernando Silva posted a childhood picture of teammate Benjamin Mendy along with a caption “Guess who?” and an image of the mascot for Spanish chocolate brand Conguitos, which is widely viewed as a controversial caricature – as reported by CNN.
Man City manager Pep Guardiola came out to defend his star player saying: “Bernardo is one of the most lovely people I have ever met in my life.
“He speaks four or five languages — that is the best way to understand how open-minded he is — and one of his best friends is Mendy. He is like a brother for him. The image for the two is not about the colour of the skin.
“If they want to do that, to ask Bernardo, we’d be open to talk, but first to do that you want to know exactly which person are you talking about. If something happens it would be a mistake because Bernardo is an exceptional person.”
But the FA were having none of it since they have clearly taken this tweet as a form of racial discrimination.
“The Commission accepts that the player did not himself intend the post to be insulting or in any way racist,” the FA report stated[as published].
“It is clear that the tweet was intended to be no more than a joke between close friends.
“However, this was not a private jocular communication between two friends. The post was on a social media platform exposed to the 600,000 followers of a high-profile and well-respected professional footballer.
“The player accepts that whilst he was ignorant of the adverse historical connotations of the Conguitos character and that he had not intended the post in any way to be offensive, he acknowledges that others would do so.”
The absence of Bernardo Silva will surely be a big blow for Pep Guardiola since the winger has been a key spark while going forward but many believe this suspension couldn’t have come at a better time primarily since Riyad Mahrez had been itching to get some game time.
With Bernardo Silva out, Mahrez will most certainly play on the right flank while Raheem Sterling operates on the opposite flank.
