Edinson Cavani has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association

Edinson Cavani has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association for using the word “negrito”

on Instagram in November and the Manchester United striker could be banned for three matches if found

guilty.

The 33-year-old reposted a message to a friend after scoring twice in the 3-2 win at Southampton on Nov. 29

in which he wrote in Spanish, “gracias, negrito,” — a term that can be interpreted as racist in the U.K.

Read Also: Just In: Edinson Cavani facing three-match ban for ‘racist’ comment

Manchester United and Cavani stressed that there was “absolutely no malicious intent” behind the comment,

but they will consider the FA charge before issuing a response to the FA, who say the post constituted as

“an aggravated breach” of FA Rule E3.2 due to the reference to color, race, and/or ethnic origin.

“The striker has until Monday, Jan. 4 2021 to respond to the charge.”

Cavani subsequently deleted the post and issued an apology while United released their own statement to

further, defend the Uruguay international.

Sources have told ESPN that in Cavani’s representations to the FA, he insisted the word is not used with racial or derogatory intent in Uruguay and that the friend in question uses the term with his own son.

United, meanwhile, argued that the word was used as a term of affection and that cultural context is key, but

sources have told ESPN it was not taken into consideration by the FA.

A club spokesperson said: “Manchester United and all of our players are fully committed to the fight against

racism and we will continue to work with the FA — along with other governing bodies and organizations, and

through our own campaigns — in that regard.

“We note the FA decision today to charge Edinson Cavani for his social media reply to a friend’s message of

congratulations following the Southampton game.

“Edinson and the club were clear that there was absolutely no malicious intent behind the message, which he

deleted and apologized for as soon as he was informed that it could have been misconstrued.

“The player and the club will now consider the charge and respond to the FA accordingly.”