Liverpool star striker Mario Balotelli apologized for the Instagram post, which was criticized by many for being anti-Semitic and racist.
The 24-year-old shared a joke in on his social media page where he used the main character of the popular computer game Super Mario, BBC reports.
Game character Super Mario
“Don’t be a racist! Be like Mario, he’s an Italian plumber, created by Japanese people, who speaks English and looks like a Mexican. He jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew.”
Balotelli’s Instragram post
Reacting to the critical messages, Balotelli tweeted: “My Mom is Jewish so all of you shut up please.”
Although first the Italian had tweeted to deny the offensive character of his post, he later deleted it and issued an apology.
“I apologise if I’ve offended anyone. The post was meant to be anti-racist with humour. I now understand that out of context it may have the opposite effect. Not all Mexicans have a moustache, not all black people jump high and not all Jewish people love money. I used a cartoon done by somebody else because it has Super Mario and I thought it was funny and not offensive. Again, I’m sorry.”
Despite an apology, Jewish Leadership Council chief executive Simon Johnson insisted on punishment for the player.
“We abhor all forms of racism, wherever it is found. We call upon the FA to investigate this offensive social media post and to take action if appropriate if we are to succeed in kicking racism out of football.”
It would be recalled that earlier in September the Italian became target of the racist comments after he had posted a message during Manchester United’s 5-3 defeat by Leicester City. The footballer simply wrote: “Man Utd…LOL”, which immediately ignited the MU fans.
Some reactions were really offensive and included the slur “monkey”, provoking further outrage and the police investigation.
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