JAKARTA - The English Football Association (FA) is investigating social media posts by Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani that contain phrases in Spanish that could be interpreted as offensive or racist.
Cavani has deleted a post he sent to a friend on Instagram after learning what the phrase means in English.
If found guilty, Cavani could face a suspension of at least three games.
The 32-year-old scored twice as United reversed a 3-2 win after trailing 0-2 against Southampton last weekend.
"The message I posted after Sunday's match was intended as a greeting to a friend to thank his congratulations after the match," Cavani said in a statement as quoted by Antara on ESPN, Tuesday, December 1.
"What I don't want to do is insult other people. I am totally against racism and have deleted the message once it was explained that the sentence could be interpreted differently. I sincerely apologize for this incident."
Cavani has already made it clear to United that he is not aware of the meaning of the word in England as it is often used among friends in his native Uruguay.
United themselves issued a statement that "It was clear to us there was absolutely no malicious intent behind Edinson's message and he deleted the message as soon as he was told it could be misinterpreted."
"Edinson has already apologized for the consequences of this inadvertent remarks. Manchester United and all our players are fully committed to fighting racism."
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