Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson Moraes has denied knowing who British far-right activist Tommy Robinson was after a photo of the pair posing together emerged.
In a tweet accompanying a photo of the footballer posing with the ex-English Defence League founder, Mr Moraes wrote: "People have made me aware of who this guy is. I definitely [do] not support this guy or his ideas. He just stopped me for a picture. I had no idea who he was (do not be a liar)".
The photo was originally shared by Danny Tommo, one of Mr Robinson’s aides, who claimed Mr Robinson had Mr Moraes’ “full support”
"People have made me aware of who this guy is. I definitely not support this guy or his ideas. He just stopped me for a picture. I had no idea who he was" (do not be a liar) https://t.co/IkjTOUmcfE
— Ederson Moraes (@edersonmoraes93) April 30, 2019
Mr Moraes joined Manchester city in 2017 from Benfica and has been instrumental in the team’s premiership success this season.
Mr Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has attracted widespread criticism for his often Islamophobic and anti-immigration rhetoric, but continues to draw crowds at far-right events.
He was recently been permanently banned from both Facebook and Twitter for violating their policies by promoting hate speech.
He announced his intention to run in the European elections last week.
The controversial snap comes just two weeks after another premiership footballer, Wayne Hennessey, denied knowing what a Nazi salute was after being photographed making the offensive gesture.
The Crystal Palace goalkeeper was charged by the Football Association in January after the photo was shared on Instagram, but two members of a three-man panel found the charge was not proven.
Of Mr Hennessey’s claim he did not understand what the salute was, the panel said: “improbable as that may seem to those of us of an older generation, we do not reject that assertion as untrue”.
