Balotelli tells FA he is victim of racist abuse

Liverpool’s £16m summer signing apologised to fans and deleted the post on Monday, which also included the words: "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."

The striker tweeted: “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 moustache, not all black people jump high and not all Jewish people love money. I used the cartoon done by someone else because it has Super Mario and I thought it was funny and not offensive. Again, I'm sorry.”

He faces a five-match ban if the FA decides that he breached its anti-racism rules.