 By Brian Bariyo Tumuramye
Kick It Out has called on the Football
Association to act after the governing body confirmed it was investigating a
tweet sent by Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva.
Silva compared City team-mate Benjamin Mendy to the character on the packet of Conguitos – a sweet brand available in Spain and Portugal.
“We are extremely disappointed to see the tweet posted by Bernardo
Silva,” said the anti-discrimination body.
However, Manchester City declined to comment.
The post was published at 12:44 BST on Sunday but was deleted at 13:30 BST.
Bernardo then tweeted: “Can’t even joke with a friend these days.”
France international Mendy and Silva are close friends and played together
at Monaco before both joined City in 2017.
Mendy responded to the tweet and did not appear to take offence.
A Kick It Out statement added: “Racist stereotypes are never acceptable
as ‘banter’, and we’re shocked that someone who is a role model to millions has
failed to understand the discriminatory nature of his post.
“The FA have been notified and we believe that retrospective action
should be taken, including mandatory education – which is vital to challenge
offensive behavior such as this.”
(Ultram)
