Manchester City professional Bernardo Silva threatens a tweet a lock by the English Football Association. The association has filed charges against the Portuguese for insulting him after he made fun of his team-mate Benjamin Mendy on Twitter - with a clear reference to his skin color.
The FA stated that Bernardo Silva was guilty of a serious breach of rules in "reference to race, color and ethnic origin". The player was given the opportunity to comment until 9 October.
Bernardo Silva had tweeted a photo of Mendy next to the black cartoon character of a mascot promoting chocolate candy. He himself wanted to know this as a "joke" understood, even Mendy has responded to this. However, the FA nevertheless wants to initiate a procedure. Thus, Silva could be blocked for up to six games.
City coach Josep Guardiola had vehemently defended his player in front of the press this week. "The people who condemn Bernardo do not know him," said the coach. Guardiola added, "It's a cartoon, and the faces are pretty much the same, the same thing happened to white people a thousand million times." This statement was subsequently criticized.
Shortly thereafter, Bernardo Silva deleted his tweet and said via Twitter, "These days you can not even joke with a friend."