Bernardo Silva Criticised over Alleged Racist Tweet

Manchester City midfielder, Bernardo Silva, has come under fire for an allegedly racist tweet on Sunday, 22 September – but his coach, Pep Guardiola, has come to his defence.

The 25-year-old Portuguese player posted a photo depicting his fellow teammate, Benjamin Mendy, as a young boy, alongside an image of Spanish chocolate brand Conguitos’ mascot.

In the caption – along with two laughing emojis – he wrote: “Guess who?”

Many failed to see the humour and criticised the image for its racist connotations.

However, Guardiola insisted in a post-match conference on Tuesday, 24 September, that Silva was not guilty of racism, and that the tweet had not offended Mendy.

He said: “Honestly, I don’t know what is going to happen, but they should put the focus on other issues.”

Guardiola continued: “[Mendy] is like a brother for him. The image for the two is not about the colour of the skin.”

Nevertheless, Kick It Out, an organisation which deals with racism in English football, said in a statement: “Racist stereotypes are never acceptable as ‘banter’.”