Edinson Cavani has apologised for the use of a Spanish phrase in a now-deleted social media post since following Manchester United‘s victory over Southampton on Sunday.
The Uruguayan will be investigated by the Football Association after replying to a message of congratulations on Instagram, in which he used a word that is seen as a term of endearment in Latin America – although one that is still offensive in other contexts.
In a statement, Cavani said: “The message I posted after the match on Sunday was intended as an affectionate greeting to a friend, thanking him for his congratulations after the game.
“The last thing I wanted to do was cause offence to anyone. I am completely opposed to racism and deleted the message as soon as it was explained that it can be interpreted differently. I would like to sincerely apologise for this.”
Manchester United added: “It is clear to us that there was absolutely no malicious intent behind Edinson’s message and he deleted it as soon as he was informed that it could be misconstrued.
“Edinson has issued an apology for any unintentional offence caused. Manchester United and all of our players are fully committed to the fight against racism.”
Ahead of the new season the FA applied a minimum three-match suspension should any player be found guilty of a discriminatory incident on social media.
Social media guidelines sent out by the FA warned players against using “threatening, indecent, abusive or insulting language or images” or “discriminatory language”.
Players are responsible for their social media accounts, even if posts are done by a third party, while the guidelines also mention to “remove any inappropriate postings as soon as possible”, a point Cavani has followed upon learning of reaction to the post.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/39uGx6a
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