Mario Balotelli has been charged with a one match suspension, a £25,000 fine and instructions to attend an education course after an FA probe into an Instagram post the striker made recently.
Balotelli had already accepted a misconduct charge after the FA started investigating the post, refering to the Italian strikers nickname 'Super Mario' which contained racist and anti-semitic language. He didn't request a personal hearing however submitted mitigating evidence to the FA commission, which contained three people.
The words of the post, accompanied with a picture of Nintendo character Mario said 'Don't be racist- be like Mario. He's an Italian plumber created by Japanese people who speaks English and looks like a Mexican. Jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew.'
Balotelli origininally deleted the post after it was criticised, posting on twitter that it was intended to be "anti-racist with humour."
The suspension will see Balotelli miss Liverpool's game at home to Arsenal on Sunday, which he was likely to miss through injury anyway. Balotelli has announced on Instagram that he won't be appealing the charge, meaning he doesn't risk further punishment. It is yet to be seen whether he will be internally disciplined by Liverpool.
A Liverpool spokesman said "The club acknowledges the decision reached by the independent panel and due consideration will be given to the written judgement once we receive it from The FA."
This is the latest setback for both Liverpool and Balotelli, with the striker yet to register a Premier League goal following his £16 million pound move from AC Milan in the summer.