Spurs Midfielder Dele Alli apologises for coronavirus joke

Tottenham Hotspur star Dele Alli apologised for a Snapchat post joking about the coronavirus. He seems to now be feeling sorry for his impulsive social media behaviour.

He said, "It wasn't funny and I realised that immediately and took it down. I let myself down and the club. It isn't something that should be joked about. I'm sending all my love and all my thoughts and prayers to everyone in China."

The 23-year old midfielder had previously posted a video on Snapchat where he joked about the outbreak. It appeared to be mocking an Asian man.

The video that Alli posted showed him donning a face mask inside an airport lounge. He then moved the camera towards a man of Asian appearance. He further zoomed the shot on a bottle of antiseptic hand wash.

BBC says that he deleted the post later, and released a new video on Weibo; a Chinese social media platform, to apologise. Meanwhile, the Football Association has written to Alli, asking for his comments about the post.

The 2019 novel coronavirus has killed 1000 people in China. Over 40,000 more cases have been reported worldwide. The UK government has declared the breakout to be a "serious and imminent threat" to public health.

Tottenham played 25 matches, of which they won 10 and lost eight, while drawing seven. Their winning percentage isn't close to 50%. Their run for this year's league trophy is technically over. A last-four spot will be enough to feed the current expectations of the club supporters.

The Spurs' performance hasn't been impressive lately, despite the appointment of Jose Mourinho, although the side started showing some improvement. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United manager's biggest responsibility would be to drive Spurs into the top four of the Premier League this season. In the meantime, Mourinho's mentee, Frank Lampard, has taken Chelsea ahead of the Spurs by four points, and are sitting in the fourth position.

Technically, the Spurs can still finish in the top four. The League is already past the half-way mark, but with still a fair number of games to be played.

The top four spots are yet to be decided, except perhaps that of the first position. Liverpool is very likely to win their first league title since 1990. Three decades has been a long wait indeed.