KEIR RADNEDGE in LONDON: Swiss defender Michel Morganella might find that his racist outburst in Twitter lands him with not merely disciplinary action back home but with a worldwide ban.

Morganella was sent home from the Olympic Games earlier this week for a rant after his team’s 2-1 defeat by South Korea in the men’s football tournament. Later the message was deleted and he apologised but these steps were not enough to spare him disciplinary action.

Gian Gilli, chef de mission of the Swiss Olympic team, had described the Palermo  23-year-old as having embarrassed the Swiss team and the Olympic movement.

Those sentiments were echoed by Sepp Blatter, the Swiss president of world federation FIFA. Blatter, with ironic and unhappy timing for Morganella, was attending a reception formalising a partnership with the British anti-racism group Kick It Out.

“Of course I condemn what he did,” said Blatter. “It was not only an embarrassment for football and Swiss football but for the Olympic Games. It is now a matter for the Swiss football federation to deal with and then they will refer to us because this is an international tournament.”

Blatter, minutes earlier, had spoken out strongly against all manifestations of racism within football. Hence Morganella could find himself facing an ill-timed international suspension right at the start of Switzerland’s 2014 World Cup qualifying effort.

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