Tottenham and England football star, Dele Alli, has apologised for making an insensitive joke about the coronavirus outbreak while mocking an Asian man.
During the weekend, the 23-year-old midfielder shared a video on Snapchat in which he seemed to be filming a man of Asian descent, accompanied by the caption ‘Corona whatttttt, please listen with volume.’
In the video, Alli was shown wearing a mask with a concerned expression on his face.
The subsequent part of the Snapchat story featured a bottle of handwash, along with the caption: ‘This virus gunna have to be quicker than that to catch me og.’
The video triggered outrage, with many individuals condemning his behavior and labeling him as racist.
He subsequently took to the Chinese social media platform Weibo to issue an apology for his actions.
In the apology video, Alli expressed remorse, stating, ‘Just wanted to apologise for the video I posted on Snapchat yesterday. 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 emergence of the deadly coronavirus in the city of Wuhan, China, there have been 35,000 diagnosed cases worldwide, with over 700 deaths.
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