Balotelli social media post to be investigated - reports

LONDON (Reuters) - Liverpool forward Mario Balotelli is to be investigated by the Football Association (FA) for a potentially racist and anti-Semitic social media post, British media reported on Monday.

(Reuters)

The Italian later deleted the post from his Instagram page.

"We are aware of the posting which has since been promptly deleted by the player," a Liverpool spokesman told the BBC. "We will be speaking to the player about the issue." Former FA executive Simon Johnson, who is the chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, said the 24-year-old should be punished.

"We abhor all forms of racism, wherever it is found," he told The Daily Telegraph newspaper.

"We call upon the FA to investigate this offensive social media post and to take action if appropriate if we are to succeed in kicking racism out of football."

(Reporting by Tom Hayward; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)