The English Football Association has banned Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli for one match and fined him 25,000 pounds ($39,000) over a racially offensive posting online.
The FA says Balotelli has also been ordered to attend an education program for the "aggravated breach" of its rules. Balotelli uploaded on Instagram a picture of the video-game character Super Mario, with whom the Italy international shares a nickname, with text around the image including "jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew."