Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani has been severely punished for a social media post from the English Football Association. The 33-year-old has been banned from three competitive games and has to pay a fine of 100,000 pounds (around 111,000 euros). The FA assessed an Instagram greeting from the Uruguayan to a friend as “offensive, abusive and inappropriate”.
In addition, Cavani made reference to skin color or ethnic origin in the November article and thus violated FA rules. Cavani will miss the Red Devils in the upcoming games in the Premier League against Aston Villa, in the League Cup against Manchester City and in the FA Cup against Watford FC.
Cavani had deleted his Instagram post after a short time and already apologized for using a Spanish term for black people (“negrito”). The striker emphasized that this was intended as a loving greeting and that he was against all racism. The word “negrito” has a different meaning in South America than it does in Great Britain. His club Manchester United therefore demonstratively stood behind Cavani.
“Edinson Cavani was not aware that his words could be misinterpreted and sincerely apologized for them,” said the English record champions on Thursday. “Despite his honest belief that he is just sending a nice thank you note on congratulations from a close friend, he has chosen not to contest the charges out of respect for and solidarity with the FA and its fight against racism in football.”
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