[Archive 2021-01-04] Uruguayan Language Academy rejects FA sanction against Edinson Cavani as 'poverty of cultural and linguistic knowledge'

Historical archive — originally published 2021-01-04. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

On Friday, the Uruguay language academy shared a statement rejecting football player Edinson Cavani's ban of three matches and a £100,000 (US$137,000) fine ruled by The Football Association (FA) in England.

The sanction was made on Thursday based on a comment on Instagram that the Uruguayan striker made to a fan who congratulated him on his football performance.

This was not the only Spanish language academy supporting Cavani against the accusation of racism. The Argentina language academy —Argentina, another country of the Río de la Plata Basin, shares with Uruguay the variety of Spanish known as Rioplatense Spanish— on December 22 called on the FA to acquit Cavani and "the presentation of the corresponding excuses for having affected his good name in an unfounded way." ((es))Spanlish language: ‍Se pide la presentación de las correspondientes excusas por haberse afectado su buen nombre de manera infundada

Meanwhile, in Argentina and Uruguay on Friday, the hashtag #graciasnegrito became a trending topic on Twitter, in support of Cavani against the sanction received.

Source and licence

Text adapted from Uruguayan Language Academy rejects FA sanction against Edinson Cavani as 'poverty of cultural and linguistic knowledge' by Wikinews contributors under CC BY 2.5. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. Contributor history.