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Tag: FA

  • Cavani Banned For Three Games Over ‘Negrito’ Post

    Cavani Banned For Three Games Over ‘Negrito’ Post

    Manchester United forward Edinson Cavani has been banned for three matches and fined £100,000 for using a racial term in a social media post, the Football Association announced on Thursday.

    The 33-year-old summer signing produced a match-winning display at Southampton on November 29, providing an assist for Bruno Fernandes before netting a two goals in a 3-2 comeback win.

    Cavani posted a social media message on Instagram shortly after the match, replying to a message of congratulations using the Spanish term “negrito” (small black person).

    The Uruguayan swiftly deleted the post and issued an apology after being made aware of the connotations, with the player releasing an apologetic statement saying he was “completely opposed to racism”.

    But the FA has now punished the striker after he admitted breaching FA Rule E3.

    “A comment posted on the Manchester United FC striker’s Instagram page was insulting, abusive, improper and brought the game into disrepute,” the FA said in a statement.

    “The post also constitutes an ‘aggravated breach’… as it included reference, whether express or implied, to colour and/or race and/or ethnic origin,” the statement added.

    Manchester United issued a statement saying Cavani was not aware his words could have been misconstrued and “sincerely apologised” for the post and to anyone who was offended.

    “Despite his honest belief that he was simply sending an affectionate thank you in response to a congratulatory message from a close friend, he chose not to contest the charge out of respect for, and solidarity with, the FA and the fight against racism in football,” the club said.

    United said they hoped the independent regulatory commission appointed to decide the sanction would make it clear in its written reasons that the former Paris Saint-Germain player “is not a racist, nor was there any racist intent in relation to his post”.

  • Jurgen Klopp urges FA to replace Cup replays with penalty shootouts

    Jurgen Klopp urges FA to replace Cup replays with penalty shootouts

    Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has urged the FA to scrap cup replays altogether in a bid to reduce the numbers of games that players are forced to play in a given season, while also suggesting that smaller clubs are automatically given a home tie against bigger ones. Klopp has long spoken about the need to lessen the physical burden on top players, some of whom – including Liverpool’s Sadio Mane – can reach 70 games in a single season including internationals.

    Liverpool have also already fallen victim to fixture congestion this season and had to field a youth team in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals because the game could not be rearranged and they were already committed to playing in the FIFA Club World Cup at the same time. Replays in the event of a draw have already been scrapped in the FA Cup from the fifth round onwards, but Klopp wants to see the end of them at every stage. “Replays in the FA Cup? Have a penalty shootout,” Klopp is quoted as saying by the Telegraph. “The explanation against that is that the smaller teams have a chance to win the game. Then give them the home game in the first place. Go there, play there. If they beat us, ‘Congratulations. Go for it’. It’s just another game on television. But who watches these games?” Match of the Day host Gary Lineker recently expressed a similar view on Twitter Klopp’s overriding concern is that demands on players to play seem to be growing each year and he would rather accept less money to play a little less often and allow time for sufficient rest. “I am not sure we have to (go to the Club World Cup) but we are all well paid and that’s how it is. We know that this money, someone has to earn it somewhere,” he added. “I like the idea in general but then you have to cancel another tournament. You just cannot add on another tournament and another and another. That cannot work. Where is the year where there is no tournament? It’s just not there anymore for some players. You have the World Cup, the European Championships, the Club World Cup and the Copa America.”

    Klopp’s overriding concern is that demands on players to play seem to be growing each year and he would rather accept less money to play a little less often and allow time for sufficient rest. “I am not sure we have to (go to the Club World Cup) but we are all well paid and that’s how it is. We know that this money, someone has to earn it somewhere,” he added. “I like the idea in general but then you have to cancel another tournament. You just cannot add on another tournament and another and another. That cannot work. Where is the year where there is no tournament? It’s just not there anymore for some players. You have the World Cup, the European Championships, the Club World Cup and the Copa America.”