Tottenham Hotspur man Dele Alli has been handed a one-match ban for mocking the coronavirus meaning he will miss the Spurs vs Man United clash next week.
The Premier League will resume on June 17 and just two days later, Man United travel to London to take on Jose Mourinho’s Spurs but Dele Alli will be a miss for that game thanks to his stupidity.
On February 6th, the England international posted a video on Snapchat wearing a mask in an airport lounge and then focusing on an Asian man, with the caption “Corona whattttt, please listen with volume”.
The video was deleted from the player’s Snapchat story soon after but by the next day, this video had gone viral. And now, almost four months later, the FA have handed him a one-match ban for the insensitivity. Alli has also been handed a £50,000 fine and must attend an educational course.
The player was charged u/s Rule E3 and as per the official statement: “Dele Alli has been suspended for one match with immediate effect, fined £50,000 and must undertake an education course following a breach of FA Rule E3.
“The Tottenham Hotspur FC player denied that a social media post breached FA Rule E3(1), as it was insulting and/or improper and/or brought the game into disrepute, and constituted an “Aggravated Breach”, which is defined in FA Rule E3(2), as it included a reference, whether express or implied, to race and/or colour and/or ethnic origin and/or nationality. However, it was subsequently found proven by an independent Regulatory Commission.”
Apologising for the controversial video, Dele Alli told the Spurs’ official website: “In response to the FA decision, I would like to apologise again for any offence caused by my behaviour.
“It was an extremely poorly judged joke about a virus that has now affected us more than we could ever have imagined. 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.”
The absence of Dele Alli for the Man United clash is a huge blow for manager Jose Mourinho as Spurs look to keep their Champions League status intact.
And if this was not enough then midfielder Eric Dier could also miss the Spurs vs Man United tie after he chose to jump into the stands to confront a Spurs supporter following Spurs’ FA Cup loss to Norwich in March.
