Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Dan Kilpatrick

Tottenham's Dele Alli could be banned over coronavirus video as FA ask for observations

Tottenham's Dele Alli could face a ban from the Football Association for his video mocking the coronavirus outbreak.

The FA is looking into the incident and has written to Alli to ask for his observations.

If the video is deemed racist, Alli is likely to be charged which could lead to a hefty fine and match-ban.

Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva was handed a one-game ban and £50,000 fine by the FA last November after what was deemed an offensive tweet about team-mate Benjamin Mendy.

Alli has since deleted the video and apologised, saying he "let himself and the club down".

Alli deleted the video and apologised for the post on Chinese social media platform Weibo Photo: AFP via Getty Images

The England midfielder posted a video on his Snapchat account of him wearing a face mask in an airport departure lounge on Saturday, accompanied by the message: “Corona whattt, please listen with volume.”

Alli then zoomed the camera towards an unsuspecting man of Asian appearance before panning to a bottle of antiseptic hand-wash captioned: “This virus gunna have to be quicker than that to catch me.”

Alli, who had been heading to Dubai for a short holiday during the Premier League winter break, subsequently deleted the video after a number of complaints.

“I’d like to apologise for the video I posted on Snapchat yesterday,” Alli said in a video released on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.

“It wasn’t funny. I realised that immediately and took it down. I let myself down and the club. I don’t want you guys to have that impression of me.

“It isn’t something that should be joked about. Sending all my love and thoughts and prayers for everyone in China."

A spokesperson for Tottenham said: "Dele has recognised he made a grave error of judgement and has issued two separate apologies."

Alli began the winter break on a high after two match-winning assists from the bench in Tottenham's 3-2 win over Southampton last Wednesday.

Spurs return to action with a trip to Aston Villa on Sunday.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.