Alli banned for Man Utd match and fined £50,000 for mocking Covid-19

Dele Alli has been hit with a one-game ban by the Football Association for his controversial social media post earlier this year in which he appeared to mock an Asian man over the coronavirus.

The Tottenham star has been at the centre of an FA investigation and will now miss his team's Project Restart opener against Manchester United a week on Friday after disciplinary chiefs slapped the midfielder with a one match suspension and £50,000 fine.

He will also be required to undertake an FA educational course.

Alli posted a video showing a man of Asian descent with the caption: 'Corona whatttttt, please listen with volume.'

In the next part of the Snapchat story, the midfielder wears a mask while appearing to feign concern. He then shows a bottle of handwash, accompanied by the caption: 'This virus gunna have to be quicker than that to catch me.'

Alli deleted the video within minutes of posting it and apologised twice, nevertheless the FA have deemed the footage to have racial connotations.

In November, Manchester City star Bernardo Silva was banned for one game and fined £50,000 for a social media post in which he compared team-mate Benjamin Mendy to the character on a packet of Conguitos - a chocolate brand available in Spain and Portugal.

An FA commission accepted Silva did not intend to be 'racist' against Mendy, but still felt compelled to dish out the suspension given the connotations.

Sportsmail revealed in February that Alli would tell disciplinary chiefs the video was not racist but a misjudged joke.

Silva's social media post regarding Mendy was made on Twitter which is a public forum.

Unlike Silva's post regarding Mendy which was made on Twitter - a public forum - Alli's video was meant for private consumption; the England star posting it on his private Snapchat account, meaning only people he has verified have access to his posts.

However, the video in question was somehow leaked to the Daily Star on Sunday.