Balotelli Charged By FA Over Super Mario Instagram Post
Mario Balotelli has been charged by the Football Association for reposting an image of the Nintendo character Super Mario that prompted accusations of racism and antisemitism.
Balotelli posted a picture on Instagram that included the sentence “jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a jew” underneath the cartoon character with whom he shares a nickname.
Balotelli submitted observations on the incident to the FA on Friday in which he detailed examples of the racist abuse he has suffered during a high-profile career with Internazionale, Manchester City, Milan and Liverpool.
He was subsequently charged by the governing body under rule E3, which cites as “aggravating factors” references to ethnic origin, colour, race, nationality, faith, gender, sexual orientation or disability.
The FA confirmed: “It is alleged the Liverpool player breached FA Rule E3 (1) in that his posting was abusive and/or insulting and/or improper. It is further alleged that this is an ‘Aggravated Breach’ as defined by FA Rule E3[2] as it included a reference to ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race and/or nationality and/or religion or belief. The player has until 6pm on 15 December 2014 to respond to the charge.”