Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli could have been banned for more than one match over a controversial social media post, but the Football Association was satisfied he did not mean any offence.
On Tuesday the FA published reasons for its decision to suspend the Italy international for one game after he posted an image on Instagram that appeared to contain racist and anti-Semitic language.
Balotelli was also fined 25,000 pounds and told to attend an education course.
FA vice-president Roger Burden, who chaired the regulatory commission that handed out the punishment, stated in a written judgement that a ban of two to three matches was standard for such an offence, but had taken mitigating circumstances into account.
Balotelli had shared a picture of the Nintendo character Super Mario, with a headline that read "Don't be racist," and text that added: "Be like Mario, he's an Italian plumber, created by Japanese people, who speaks English and looks like a Mexican. He jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew."
In evidence submitted to the FA, the striker stated that he had mistakenly believed the image contained a light-hearted anti-racist message, and that he had deleted the post within 10 minutes, but that it had already been picked up on by the media.
He subsequently apologised twice -- once on Twitter and once on his Facebook page.
Balotelli also pointed out that he had suffered racism on several occasions, adding that he is of Ghanaian heritage, and that his maternal grandmother was Jewish and escaped Nazi Germany.
Burden wrote of Balotelli: "He said that he was shocked to find the image was offensive because, out of sheer naivety, he had not understood the implication of the comments which appeared on the image."
The 24-year-old striker, through his legal representatives, also put forward examples of what they believed were cases similar to the Super Mario posting controversy, in which the player responsible had not been suspended.
Burden responded: "We were not influenced by the submissions regarding comparative cases but we believed that the other parts of Mr Balotelli's submissions were sincere and entirely honest.
"We also noted his prompt withdrawal of the image, his co-operation with the FA inquiry and his apology through social media."
Balotelli served his ban by missing Sunday's 2-2 Premier League draw against Arsenal, but will be available for the Boxing Day trip to Burnley if he has recovered from a groin problem which has restricted him to 45 minutes of football since Nov. 8.