The FA Regulatory Commission felt that Bernardo Silva had to be given a playing ban for breaching social media rules - but stopped well short of the six that was feared by some.
The 25-year-old landed himself in hot water after tweeting a picture likening Manchester City teammate Benjamin Mendy to a controversial caricature cartoon character used to promote Spanish chocolate brand Conguitos and while it was swiftly taken down it had already been highlighted across social media.
Bernardo admitted that his post counted as an aggravated breach of FA rules because it "includes a reference whether express or implied, to any one or more of the following: ethnic origin, colour, race, nationality, religion or belief, gender, gender assignment, sexual orientation or disability."
Because it emerged on social media, the Regulatory Commission did not have to impose a minimum of a six-game ban and could instead decide what they felt was appropriate.
While the aggravated breach left the panel to conclude that he must sit out one game, they produced the following mitigating factors to justify not suspending him for more than that:
- the player did not have any knowledge of the historical connotations of the Conguitos character
- the tweet was not intended by the player to be racist or offensive in any way
- the tweet was promptly deleted
- the player and City have taken steps to ensure that the player has a greater understanding of his responsibilities on social media
- the player made an early admission in full co-operation with the disciplinary process
- the player has an exemplary character and disciplinary record
