After Uruguay faced the penalty, it turned to defending one of its greatest idols, a three-time World Cup winner and the team’s second historic goalscorer.
Conmebol expressed solidarity with Edinson Cavani and considered that the sanction by the English Federation (FA) on the Uruguayan footballer, for a comment on social networks, “clearly does not take into account the cultural characteristics and the use of certain terms in everyday speech in Uruguay.”
The Manchester United forward was fined £ 100,000 (£ 110,000) and three games on December 31 for a response to his Instagram account under consideration “offensive, insulting and inappropriate” for the FA.
Cavani, who will have to attend “face-to-face education” sessions, he wrote on November 29, following a comeback against Southampton, “thank you black boy” in response to a follower who congratulated him.
In this regard, Conmebol added in its statement that the “Judging such statements, as part of a process that could lead to penalties for the athlete and damage his reputation and good name, should always be done in accordance with the context in which they were made.”
The supreme authority of South American football said this judgment should be based first of all on “to the cultural peculiarities of each player and country”.
“Conmebol condemns and will always with the greatest energy condemn any racist or discriminatory expression, but the specific case for which Cavani was punished is not one of them”, the statement concludes.
The Uruguayan Association of Footballers this Monday described as “discriminatory and racist” the English Federation’s treatment of Cavani and as “a discriminatory act against the culture and way of life of Uruguayans.
After knowing the sanction, Uruguay turned to the defense of one of its greatest idols, Three-time World Cup winner and second top scorer of all time for the national team.
The Uruguayan National Academy of Letters also expressed its “strongest rejection” of the sanction.