The Super Mario (Balotelli) Controversy

The Instagram Meme posted by Mario Balotelli on Instagram

The old meme was originally employed to spread a message of anti-racism, and reads that Mario has characteristics of many different races.

Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli has apologised for a post on social media which appeared to contain anti-Semitic and racist references.

Balotelli, however, quickly deleted the post from his Instagram page of Nintendo computer game character Super Mario.

Before his apology, the Italian had tweeted to deny the text of the post was offensive.

Responding to criticism on Twitter, Balotelli tweeted: "My Mom is Jewish so all of you shut up please."He also described reposting the image as "my unlucky moment".

The Football Association had asked Balotelli for his observations and given him until 18:00 GMT on Friday to respond, while Liverpool had said they would speak to the player.

Mario later wrote: “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 had Super Mario and I thought it was funny and not offensive. Again, I'm sorry.”

A spokesman for anti-discrimination group Kick It Out told BBC Sport: "Kick It Out has been made aware of Mario Balotelli's Instagram post by a Twitter user and has now forwarded it on to the FA to look into the matter.”

This is not the first time Mario has got into a racial controversy . In September too, Merseyside Police investigated racist remarks made to Balotelli on Twitter after he posted a message during Manchester United's 5-3 defeat by Leicester City.In September this year,

Balotelli found himself on the receiving end of social media racism following a message he posted during Manchester United’s 3-5 defeat against Leicester City. The abusive tweets sent to him by trolls were investigated by Merseyside Police.

Balotelli, who will miss Liverpool’s visit to Leicester City on Tuesday because of a groin injury, is expected to be reminded of his responsibilities on social media by the Anfield club.

The striker has been news for the wrong reasons sine joining Liverpool from AC Milan this summer . His form has been poor and he has scored just two goals against relatively weaker oppositions ( Ludogorets and Middlesborough) .

Mario Balotelli hasn't delivered what was expected of him .

In a similar incident , Queens Park Rangers’ Rio Ferdinand, then at Manchester United, was fined £45,000 and found guilty of improper conduct in 2012 for a tweet that characterised Ashley Cole as a “choc-ice”.

Nicolas Anelka was banned for five matches and fined £80,000 by the FA in February of this year after making the controversial 'quenelle' gesture after scoring for West Brom against West Ham. The Frenchman denied that his 'inverted Nazi salute' was anti-Semitic.

The Italian may have inadvertently caused offence with his message but all forms of racism , wherever they are , should be abhorred . The English FA should investigate into the social media post and take necessary action against the Liverpool striker if racism is to be eradicated from the beautiful game . It would serve as a deterrent fot others , players and fans alike .

The FA have clear social media guidelines, and their rules include the clear instruction players are responsible for any third party postings on their account, even if they are attempting to expose the racial attitudes of others.Those guidelines are now likely to prompt an inquiry by the FA .

Under the FA's social media guidelines, the minimum ban for race-related breaches of rules is five games.FA Rule E3 states: “Participants are deemed responsible for any postings on their account. The fact that a posting may have been made by a third party will not necessarily prevent disciplinary action being taken. ?In addition, re-tweeting another person’s posting may lead to disciplinary action if the original comment was improper. ?Finally, deleting an inappropriate posting, whilst advisable, does not necessarily prevent disciplinary action being taken.”

Mario brought disrepute to the game by this racial post . If found guilty ( quite obviously he is , unless someone hacked his instagram account ) , Mario should be banned for five games of the Barclays Premier League . Technically, if found guilty of an offence by the FA and banned, he could also face a cut in his salary at Anfield, after agreeing a contract which contains behaviour-related clauses .

Liverpool and Mario Balotelli should try to keep focus on their games.