Tottenham and England football star, Dele Alli, has apologised for making an insensitive joke about coronavirus outbreak as he mocked an Asian man.
Over the weekend, the 23-year-old midfielder posted a video on Snapchat, where he appeared to film a man of Asian descent, along with the caption ‘Corona whatttttt, please listen with Âvolume.’
In the video, Alli could be seen wearing a mask with a look of concern on his face.
The next part of the Snapchat story showed a bottle of handwash, accompanied by the caption: ‘This virus gunna have to be quicker than that to catch me og.’
The video sparked outrage, with several people condemning his behavior as they branded him a racist.
He later took to Chinese social media site Weibo, to post an apology video for his action.
Just wanted to apologise for the video I posted on Snapchat yesterday,’ Alli said in the video. ‘It wasn’t funny. I realised that immediately and took it down.
‘I let myself down and the club. I don’t want you guys to have that impression of me.
‘It isn’t something that should be joked about. Sending all my love and thoughts and prayers for everyone in China.’
Since the deadly coronavirus broke out in the city of Wuhan in China, there have been 35,000 cases diagnosed around the world with over 700 deaths.
