Cavani has been suspended for three games by the FA.

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Richard Calver / Shutterstock / SIPA

The Uruguayan Footballers Union (AFU) on Monday accused the English Federation (FA) of discrimination for accusing Edinson Cavani, the Manchester United striker, of "racism".

The 33-year-old Uruguayan international was suspended last Thursday for three games, after having written “Gracias negrito” (“Thank you little black”) in response to a message from a friend congratulating him on his decisive double against Southampton (3- 2), November 29.

“Far from being an act of fighting racism, what the FA has done is an act of discrimination against the culture and way of life of Uruguayans,” said AFU, made up of professional and amateur male players and women, in a press release Monday.

“The sanction reveals a biased, dogmatic and ethnocentric vision which only admits the reading that we want to impose from its subjective, particular and exclusive interpretation,” assures the union.

The Uruguayan Academy of Letters had taken a similar position three days earlier, accusing the FA of being "ignorant".

pic.twitter.com/P4TwyWPQ3N

- Edi Cavani Official (@ECavaniOfficial) December 31, 2020

Cavani does not share the FA's point of view

The AFU text points out that Cavani "never committed a single act that could be interpreted as racist", but used "a common form of expression" to "refer affectionately to a loved one".

“It's not just one person who has been sentenced, but our culture, our way of life.

It's discriminatory and racist, ”concludes the union, which calls for the lifting of the punishment against the former scorer of Napoli and PSG.

"I accept the disciplinary sanctions, knowing that I am foreign to the customs of the English language, but I do not share the point of view [of the FA]", had also written the player on his Twitter account Thursday evening.

In addition to his three suspension games, he was also fined 100,000 pounds sterling (111,000 euros).

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