Dele Alli Issues Apology For Making Jokes About Coronavirus Disease
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli has issued a public apology for a video he posted on his Snapchat account over the weekend appearing to make jokes about the deadly Coronavirus disease.
Alli is seen in the video wearing a facemask at an airport, where he zooms the camera onto a man of Asian descent before captioning it: “Corona whattt, please listen with volume.”
The 23-year-old then turns the camera to a bottle of antiseptic hand wash with the caption: “This virus gunna have to be quicker than that to catch me.”
Alli took down the video after several complaints were made.
"I'd like to apologise for the video I posted on Snapchat yesterday," Alli said in a video released on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.
"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."
The United Kingdom has recorded a rising number of racist incidents against people of Asian origin as the Coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in China.
Death toll from the disease has reached 900 with the number of people infected increasing by the day.
Alli, who has won 37 caps for England, is on his winter break, with Tottenham not in action until Sunday when they come up against Aston Villa in the Premier League.
