Cavani ban is too harsh

THERE is no room for mixed messaging about racial abuse in football, particularly when there is so much evidence that prejudice around the game is on the rise again. However, even within that context, the three-match ban and £100,000 fine handed out to Manchester United’s Edinson Cavani (left) for writing what he intended as an affectionate greeting to a friend on social media — but which carries different connotations in our culture — seems excessively harsh. I realise the FA’s hands were tied by their own rules and that there is a minimum three-match ban for anyone found guilty of using racially loaded language ‘in writing or via any communication device’ but the Uruguay striker’s action was not malevolent.

It was a matter of a lack of education about what is acceptable in two different cultures.

But when Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva only received a one-match ban for sending team-mate Benjamin Mendy what we consider racially offensive cartoon images, the severity of Cavani’s sanction feels unjust and puzzling.