The sanction was confirmed for Edinson Cavani: The English Federation (Football Association) indicated on Thursday that the Uruguayan received a suspension in three games for using the word “negrito” on his Instagram account.
The FA statement indicates that the football player’s comment Manchester United was “offensive, abusive, inappropriate and brought the game into a discredit contrary to rule E3.1. to the FA“. Furthermore, it indicates that publication constitutes an aggravated offense, as defined in Rule E.3.2, as “includes a reference, implicit or explicit, to color, race or ethnic origin“.
Cavani was also fined £ 100,000 (about $ 136,000) and must attend racism classes, as indicated by FA.
The Uruguayan was sanctioned after responding to a story by an acquaintance who congratulated him on his performance against Southampton, where he scored two goals with the phrase “Thank you, black”.
Cavani will miss matches against Aston Villa (Premier League), Manchester City (League Cup semi-final) and Watford (third round of the FA Cup).
Following the decision, Manchester United issued a statement in which “Cavani was not aware that his words could be misinterpreted and apologized for the publication and for anyone who might be offended.” In addition, they noted that “despite the fact that I sincerely believed that I was simply sending a warm greeting in response to a message from a close friend, decided not to resort to sanction out of respect and solidarity with the FA and the fight against racism in football“.
“While it is clear that context and intent are key factors, it is clear that the Independent Regulatory Commission has called for a minimum penalty of three games. The club is confident that the commission will clarify in its written reasons that Edinson Cavani is not a racist and that he had no racist intentions in his post“Manchester United added in their statement.