Bernardo Silva has submitted a personal letter to the Football Association expressing regret at any unintentional offence his deleted tweet caused.
Benjamin Mendy, his Manchester City team-mate and the subject of the post, has also submitted a supporting statement saying he did not take offence.
The FA could punish Bernardo with a possible six-game ban after comparing a photo of a young Mendy to the mascot of Spanish confectionery brand Conguitos.
The tweet was later deleted. Kick It Out, the anti-racism body, described Bernardo’s post as “discriminatory” and urged the FA to investigate the matter.
The governing body asked City to provide their observations before 5pm on Thursday. Bernardo responded with a personally-written letter expressing regret for his actions.
Mendy did not appear to take offence at the time of the post, replying with laughing emojis, and has written in support of his team-mate.
