Edinson Cavani has apologised for a social media post after Sunday’s game against Southampton, in which he rescued Manchester United with a brace.
The Uruguayan striker 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.”
In a statement, Manchester United said: “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.”
Cavani entered racist storm in his reply on Instagram to an apparent congratulatory message from a friend.
He wrote: “Gracias negrito.”
The term translates directly as “Thanks black.”
Cavani deleted the post three hours after he posted it and insisted that ‘negrito’ is a term of affection in South America and that will be his defence is any disciplinary action is taken.
However, the FA have been made aware of the post and are now looking into it.
According to both the Daily Mail and the Mirror, Cavani now faces a possible ban.
