The Football Association (FA) has written to Manchester City to ask the club for their observations following a social media post by Bernardo Silva.
Silva tweeted a photo of City team-mate Benjamin Mendy as a child alongside a dated image from Spanish confectionary 'Conguitos' that has been criticised for its racist connotations, with the caption: "Guess who?".
Mendy did not appear to take offence, replying with laughing emojis and a message saying: "1-0 for you will see".
However, other Twitter users were quick to point out the racist implications of the post, which was shared less than 24 hours after Silva scored a hat-trick in an 8-0 home win over Watford in Premier League action.
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The Portugal international deleted the entry, tweeting: "Can't even joke with a friend these days…You guys…".
Having already announced on Sunday they would be investigating the post, the FA has confirmed to Omnisport they have contacted the Premier League club for a response on the matter.
Meanwhile, Kick It Out, football's equality and inclusion organisation, called for retrospective action to be taken against the 25-year-old.
"We are extremely disappointed to see the tweet posted by Bernardo Silva, which has since been deleted," Kick It Out said in a statement.
"Racist stereotypes are never acceptable as 'banter', and we're shocked that someone who is a role model to millions has failed to understand the discriminatory nature of his post.
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"The FA have been notified and we believe that retrospective action should be taken, including mandatory education – which is vital to challenge offensive behaviour such as this."
