Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, Dele Alli, will miss his side’s Premier League clash against Manchester United on June 19.
Alli was handed a one-game ban by the Football Association (FA) on Thursday over a video he posted on social media mocking an Asian man for supposedly having COVID-19.
The England international had in February posted a video on Snapchat from an airport while wearing a face mask, seemingly suggesting an Asian man in the terminal could be infected with the coronavirus.
He turned the camera to the man and then to a bottle of hand sanitizer, adding the caption: “The virus gonna have to be faster than that to catch me.”
However, Alli has now been banned for one match, fined, and will have to undergo a re-education course.
“Dele Alli has been suspended for one match with immediate effect, fined £50,000 and must undertake an education course following a breach of FA Rule E3,” FA statement read.
“The Tottenham Hotspur player denied that a social media post breached FA Rule E3(1), as it was insulting and/or improper and/or brought the game into disrepute, and constituted 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.
“However, it was subsequently found proven by an Independent Regulatory Commission.”
Meanwhile, Alli has since apologized for his actions.
He said: “In response to the FA decision, I would like to apologize again for any offence caused by my behaviour.
“It was an extremely poorly judged joke about a virus that has now affected us more than we could ever have imagined.”