Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani is facing an FA probe into a social media post that featured the word ‘negrito’.
The 33-year-old frontman inspired United to a comeback 3-2 victory over Southampton on Sunday, with two goals and an assist after coming off the bench at half-time.
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But Cavani could now find himself in hot water for the post on Instagram, which appeared shortly after the victory and has now been deleted.
Replying to a message of congratulations, Cavani wrote in Spanish: ‘Gracias negrito’.
United stressed on Sunday evening the word has different connotations in South America, where Cavani is from.
The club said the 33-year-old Uruguayan had been made aware such terms are perceived very differently in the UK, and he subsequently deleted the post.
On social media, a host of South American football fans defended Cavani.
They explained that in Spanish-speaking Latin America the phrase is said affectionately to friends, often used in the way many Britons might say ‘mate’, and is not a racist term.
Nevertheless, it is expected the Football Association will launch an investigation over Cavani’s post.
The FA issued guidelines ahead of this season clamping down on racist and discriminatory language and behaviour, with offences on social media carrying a minimum three-game ban.
Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva and Tottenham ace Dele Alli were both suspended for one match last season after posts that breached FA guidelines.
Alli was banned and fined for posting a video of himself wearing a mask in an airport lounge on February 6, before zooming in on an Asian man with the caption ‘Corona whatttt’, with the Spurs man accused of racial stereotyping.
Meanwhile, Silva received a one-match ban after posting and then deleting a tweet comparing his Man City teammate Benjamin Mendy to the cartoon figure on a brand of Spanish chocolate.
‘Negrito” was the same word Luis Suarez claimed he used towards Patrice Evra during a game between Liverpool and Manchester United in 2011.
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Suarez – a close friend of Cavani’s and a teammate with the Uruguay national team – argued that the word was a term of endearment and not intended as a form of racial abuse.
However, the FA’s disciplinary panel rejected this explanation given the ‘context of heated exchanges between the players’ and Suarez was banned for eight matches.
The FA did not wish to comment when approached on Sunday night, but it is understood the governing body will launch a probe into the online post.
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