Manchester United quickly contacted Edinson Cavani to explain the issue with a post he made on social media after the side’s win over Southampton, with the Football Association expected to investigate it.
After coming off the bench to net a brace at St Mary’s in United’s come-from-behind 3-2 victory, Cavani responded to a post from a friend on Instagram saying, ‘Gracias negrito’, which translates as, ‘Thanks, little black’.
The post was deleted around three hours after first being uploaded, with The Times reporting that United were made aware of the controversy and contacted their summer signing over the issue.
Cavani and United are now braced for an FA inquiry, though similarly to what Luis Suarez argued nine years ago, there is a distinction in Spanish between ‘negro’ and ‘negrito’, with the latter used regularly in Uruguay.
The FA’s report into Suarez’s row did not take issue with the latter and Cavani reportedly told United that it is used as a term of endearment in his home country, having used it in a friendly exchange with a pal.
If the FA do investigate the post, Cavani is more likely to receive a similar punishment to Bernardo Silva over his ill-judged social media post a year ago, with the Manchester City man banned for one match, fined £50,000 and ordered to complete face-to-face education.
‘But I do understand that in England the word is used differently, so we have to pay attention how we use it. We need to adapt.
‘Do we as foreigners need to adapt more to England than England to us? Yes, of course. That’s common sense. I know things Luis Suarez does not know because I have been here 14 years. So let’s use common sense and give the kid a chance.’
Suarez of course used the term while in a heated on-pitch row with Evra and was handed an eight-game ban, whereas Cavani’s use of the term was not meant to insult and could save him from a suspension.
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