Benardo Silva’s Faux Pas Joke On Mendy’s Blackness Reminds Us Of The Difference Between The Social Media World And The Real World News

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Benardo Silva’s Faux Pas Joke On Mendy’s Blackness Reminds Us Of The Difference Between The Social Media World And The Real World

By Daily Sports on September 24, 2019

At the Benin City training ground of Benin Warriors FC, a grassroots club that I own, a lot of banter transpires everyday between the players of the team, as it is with every other club all over the world.

One of the things joked about is the skin complexion of certain players. I’ve heard and seen players tease others about how dark their skin is. And the players who are at the receiving end of the joke don’t find it offensive.

However, while this banter could pass without raising eyebrows within the confines of the dressing room, same cannot be said if it is taken to social media.

In today’s world where people are still discriminated against because of the colour of their skin, jokes about how black a player is could be regarded as over the top and could attract condemnation.

This is the case with Manchester City’s Benardo Silva who took to social media to joke about the skin complexion of his friend and teammate Benjamin Mendy.

Silva captioned a photo on Twitter believed to be of Mendy as a child next to an offensive image on Sunday with the caption: “Guess who?” The image was of the logo for the Spanish confectionery company Conguitos. The tweet was later deleted.

The FA is aware of the post and, if the game’s governing body decides to investigate further, then Silva, who scored a hat-trick in City’s 8-0 victory over Watford on Saturday, could face a fine or a ban.

Anti-racism body Kick It Out has called on the English Football Association to take action against Silva for the tweet.

Kick It Out said: “We are extremely disappointed to see the tweet posted by Bernardo Silva, which has since been deleted.

“Racist stereotypes are never acceptable as ‘banter’, and we’re shocked that someone who is a role model to millions has failed to understand the discriminatory nature of his post.

“The FA have been notified and we believe that retrospective action should be taken, including mandatory education – which is vital to challenge offensive behaviour such as this.”

The English FA are duly looking into the issue. The FA’s position when discrimination takes place on social media is to recommend match-based sanctions as a starting point for an independent regulatory commission and it would recommend at least a six-game ban. The regulatory commission has the power to increase or decrease that depending on mitigating circumstances in the event of a guilty verdict.

In response to the furore, Silva who has since deleted the post complained: “Can’t even joke with a friend these days... You guys …,” for which he was heavily criticised on the social media platform.

Sorry Silva, you can’t do that on social media. Racism is still a big issue in the world today and many find reference to someone’s skin color too sensitive an issue to joke about.

Silva