Mario Balotelli has been charged by the Football Association for the allegedly antisemitic post he reblogged on Instagram.

A statement on the governing body’s website said: “It is alleged the Liverpool player breached FA Rule E3[1] in that his posting was abusive and/or insulting and/or improper.

“It is further alleged that this is an ‘Aggravated Breach’ as defined by FA Rule E3[2] as it included a reference to ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race and/or nationality and/or religion or belief.”

The Liverpool striker admitted to posting the image, which included a photoshopped sentence saying that Nintendo character Super Mario “grabs coins like a Jew”, but also asked for forgiveness, saying: “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.”

The £16m summer signing proceeded to delete the post, 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."

If found guilty, the Italy international will face a mandatory suspension of at least five matches.

The incident follows Wigan chairman Dave Whelan being charged by the FA for making racist remarks, including the claim that Jews "chase money".