FA Admits Cavani's Comments Did Not Smell Racism But Sanctions Still Apply

Edinson Cavani (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The English football association (FA) panel on Thursday finally stated that the language used by Edison Cavani in his social media posts was not racist despite the Manchester United striker being suspended for three games.

The Uruguayan forward was given a three-match ban and a £ 100,000 fine last week for posting a photo with a message reading "gracias negrito" addressed to a friend after Manchester United's 3-2 win over Southampton on November 29.

But the FA sees the word as racist and the findings of the FA regulations commission published on Thursday explain why Cavani was given the minimum sanction under FA rules E3.1.

"The Commission is satisfied that the player wrote his reply with loving appreciation for the message from his Uruguayan friend and that the message was not designed or intended to be racist or offensive to either his friend or anyone else reading the content of the Instagram post," the FA statement was quoted as saying Antara from Reuters.

"That conclusion is supported by all available evidence relevant to the situation in which the post was made and with due regard to the characteristics and responses of the player ... However, it is not sufficient that the player does not have such intentions."

The FA said Premier League supporters could see the word "negrito", which in Spanish means "little black man", smack of racism.

The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and the Uruguayan Football Association have criticized the FA's decision to impose sanctions on Cavani.

The FA Commission expressed surprise at the lack of media training provided to Cavani, who joined United in October, so that he could be "in a better position to understand the cultural differences that may cause problems with foreign players posting information on social media platforms. ".

Uruguay's National Language Academy was angered by the decision and said the FA's decision was the result of "poverty of cultural and linguistic knowledge".

Uruguay's Academia Nacional de Letras on Friday, January 1, as reported by AFP, stated the word "negro" (black person) or diminutifnya "negrito" - similar to "gordo" (fat) or "gordito" and "flaco" (skinny) - is a term often used to show affection for someone.

"In Spanish (spoken) in Uruguay, for example, between spouses or friends, between parents and children, someone often hears and pronounces expressions such as ... gordito, negri, negrito," said the academy's official statement.

"In fact, someone I'm talking to isn't necessarily overweight or dark-skinned."

At the end of its statement, the academy said the FA had "committed serious injustice to a Uruguayan athlete who was at the highest international level and had exposed ignorance ... about the use of the language and in particular Spanish, regardless of all its complexity and context."