Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli was charged by the Football Association Wednesday for a social media post regarding the coronavirus.
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"It is alleged that the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder's post breaches FA Rule E3(1) as it was insulting and/or improper and/or brought the game into disrepute," the FA said in a statement on their website.
"It is further alleged that the post constitutes 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."
The charges refer to a video posted by the 23-year-old on Snapchat in which he joked about the virus and appeared to mock a man of Asian appearance.
After deleting the post, Alli apologised on Weibo, the Chinese social media platform, saying: "I let myself down and the club."
Alli has until Thursday 5 March to respond to the charges.
Losing him for any length of time would be another blow to Spurs manager Jose Mourinho, who is already expecting to be without forwards Harry Kane and Son Heung-min until May due to injury.
Australian Associated Press