Manchester City star Bernardo Silva has been the subject of controversy after tweeting an adolescent photo of teammate Benjamin Mendy alongside the logo of Conguitos, a Spanish candy. The logo is a candy mascot with blatantly racist caricatures.
The tweet said “Guess who?” along with some emojis.
The Football Association are looking into this tweet posted by Bernardo Silva earlier today...
— Man City | Superbia (@SuperbiaProeIia) September 22, 2019
Silva later deleted the tweet after backlash swamped the Portuguese star. However, Mendy took the tweet well enough and responded with a laugh, but Silva could face up to a six-game ban for racist abuse should he be found guilty of such.
Kick It Out, an organization that's funded by English football's governing bodies, has deemed the tweet discriminatory, but City manager Pep Guardioala defended Silva despite the Football Association’s investigation. Guardiola noted Silva as “open-minded.”
Former Liverpool star John Barnes has also come to the defense of the midfielder, claiming that “there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it.”
Both Guardiola and Barnes went as far as saying that the Conguitos logo does look like Mendy when putting aside the racist caricatures of the mascot.
The teammates are nonetheless great friends.
Silva has not issued an apology but he later posted this tweet about the original lightness of the situation.
Can’t even joke with a friend these days... You guys...
— Bernardo Silva (@BernardoCSilva) September 22, 2019
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