Bernardo Silva: Manchester City star charged by FA over ‘racist’ post about teammate

Manchester City star Bernardo Silva has been charged with misconduct by the FA over a “racist” social media post about his teammate Benjamin Mendy.

The Portuguese forward tweeted a photo of Mendy as a child alongside an image of a Spanish confectionery brand mascot, with the caption: “Guess who?”

The 25-year-old later deleted the post and insisted it had been a “joke” with a friend.

But anti-racism organisation Kick It Out condemned the tweet, saying “racist stereotypes are never acceptable as ‘banter'”.

In a statement on Wednesday, the FA said Silva had been charged with misconduct after it was alleged his post was “insulting and/or improper and/or brought the game into disrepute”.

The governing body said it was further claimed that Silva’s post “constitutes an aggravated breach” because it referred “to race and/or colour and/or ethnic origin”.

Silva has until 9 October to respond to the charge.

FA guidelines state that a breach of social media rules does not immediately mean a six-match ban, as a proven offence on the pitch would.

Instead, a regulatory commission will decide what sanction it deems appropriate for the act committed.

A six-match ban could be imposed if the comments are found to be “clearly pejorative and discriminatory”.

On the day the controversial tweet was posted, Silva later wrote on Twitter: “Can’t even joke with a friend these days… You guys…”

Kick It Out said it was “extremely disappointed” by Silva’s post and called on the FA to take “retrospective action”.

“Racist stereotypes are never acceptable as ‘banter’, and we’re shocked that someone who is a role model to millions has failed to understand the discriminatory nature of his post,” a Kick It Out spokesman said.

“The FA have been notified and we believe that retrospective action should be taken, including mandatory education – which is vital to challenge offensive behaviour such as this.”

It is understood Silva wrote to the FA to express regret over the tweet, while French star Mendy also wrote to the governing body to say that no personal offence had been caused.

City manager Pep Guardiola leapt to the defence of Silva following the controversy, 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.”

Silva’s teammate Raheem Sterling, who has drawn praise for his strong stance against racism in football, also defended the player.

He told Sky Sports: “I can see exactly the point where some people can get touchy-feely on it, but I feel in that situation Bernardo made a joke to his friend.

“He’s not referred to his skin colour, he’s not referred to his lips in both pictures, they’ve both got small heads and the most important thing for me is that he didn’t refer to a colour.”

Manchester City is yet to comment on the charge.

(c) Sky News 2019: Bernardo Silva: Manchester City star charged by FA over ‘racist’ post about teammate