Panamanian soccer is in turmoil after its president, Manuel Ariaswent too far when responding to the footballer’s criticism Martha Coxone of the most important in the country, which regretted the lack of support for women’s football. Far from arguing the player’s words with arguments, the president reacted by accusing her of being “fat” and “out of shape.” Some words for which he has been severely punished by the FIFA.
This was confirmed this Thursday by the Panamanian Football Federation (Fepafut), which explained that the sanction by the governing body of world football responded to the “improper use of language” by its president when referring to the player of the women’s team. soccer.
The organization reported in a statement that the FIFA Ethics Committee notified Arias of the sanction “for 6 months, until July 14, 2025a period in which he will not be able to participate in activities related to federated football. A punishment that leaves first vice president Fernando Arce at the head of Panamanian soccer.
Arias’ words, accusing the midfielder, one of Panama’s most prominent players, of being “fat” and “out of shape” were an angry response from the manager after the international complained about the lack of support for women’s football in the country. Logically, they quickly became the focus of controversy and forced the president of Fepafut to apologize to the player.
Marta Cox is one of the most popular players on the Panama national team. She participated in the 2023 Australia-New Zealand Women’s Soccer World Cup and is among those called up by Spanish coach Toña Is for the 2027 World Cup tournament in Brazil. At the club level she played for Mexican team Xolos until this Thursday, when she announced on her networks his signing for the Turkish Fenerbahçe.
The Federation defends its work with women
Fepafut wanted to highlight in its statement that it is not “part of any past or present process before any jurisdictional body of FIFA and this sanction imposed on the president does not affect, nor will it affect, the normal functioning of the institution.”
Thus, he pointed out that he maintains his objective of «promote women’s football through concrete actions such as the equalization of travel expenses and prizes in our women’s and men’s teams, in addition to the recent renewal of the coaching staff in our U-20 and Senior women’s teams, without forgetting the continuous development of the Women’s and Youth Youth Tournaments. men in their Under-14 and Under-16 categories.
The Panamanian federative entity adds that it will continue “working for women’s football as we have been doing in recent years, recognizing that we still have work to do.”
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