Dele Alli Could Face Ban if Found Guilty Over Coronavirus Video

​Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli could face a one-match ban if he is found guilty of posting a racially insensitive video on Snapchat.

​The FA have already reached out to Alli to discuss the video, in which the footballer - wearing a face mask - appeared to mock the outbreak of the coronavirus in China by focusing on an unsuspecting Asian man, before turning the camera to a bottle of hand wash.

Dele Alli

The video is captioned: "Corona whattt, please listen with volume. This virus gunna have to be quicker than that to catch me.”

The midfielder has since ​apologised and deleted the video, but ​The Guardian note that he may not escape a one-match ban as a result of his conduct.

​Alli is being investigated for a breach of two separate FA regulations. Firstly, rule E3(1) prohibits players from making 'improper' social media posts, while rule E3(2) discusses how references to ethnic origin, nationality or race can be considered as an 'aggravating factor'.


The basis of the one-match ban suggestion comes from ​Manchester City winger ​Bernardo Silva, who served that punishment for his controversial tweet about teammate ​Benjamin Mendy earlier in the season.

Bernardo Silva

Silva compared Mendy to the mascot of Spanish confectionery brand Conguitos, and while both players insisted it was simply a joke, Silva was hit with a ban, and £50,000 fine and forced to attend an awareness course.


Alli is currently believed to be on holiday in Dubai during the winter break, but will soon return to England to begin preparations for Sunday's trip to Villa Park to face ​Aston Villa.


It is not clear whether the FA's final ruling on the incident will be made before that game, so Alli may find himself free to feature.

Dele Alli

However, Spurs' next two league games come against ​Chelsea and ​Wolverhampton Wanderers, both of whom are in the battle for a place in the top four, and Alli's involvement in either game could now be at risk.


José Mourinho's men currently sit sixth in the table, four points behind Chelsea in the final ​Champions League spot, so they will be desperate to be at full strength for what could be a crucial few weeks in their season.


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Source : 90min