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Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Edinson Cavani is “really very, deeply sorry” for his now-deleted social media post and continues to back the Uruguayan amid the Football Association investigation into the affair.
The 33-year-old summer signing produced a winning display in Southampton on Sunday, providing an assist to Bruno Fernandes before scoring a double in an impressive 3-2 comeback.
Cavani posted a message on social media on Instagram shortly after the match, responding to a congratulatory message using the Spanish term ‘negrito’, which translates to ‘black’.
The post was quickly removed after he realized the connotations, and the player released a statement of apology the next day saying he was “completely against racism.”
The FA has been in contact following the incident in which Cavani faces a possible three-game suspension, which is the minimum for racist and discriminatory language and behavior offenses on social media.
“Of course we have reached out to Edinson and he is truly sorry for the mistake he made,” said Solskjaer.
“There was no malicious intent at all. It was just a warm greeting to a friend of his.
“But we explained to him, the FA asked him to explain himself, so of course he will cooperate with them and we will support him.
“I think it is one of those unfortunate situations that has just arrived in the country and in Uruguay they have used it with a different affection than we have.
“We will support him but of course we support the FA. It is important that the FA asked him to explain himself and he is there for everyone to see because we want to be in the fight against discrimination with everyone.”
Telling Solskjaer that the incident highlights the need for education across the board, the United manager added: “I think so.
“I saw Gary (Neville) say something about maybe all players from different cultures should get an education and I’m sure Edinson has learned the hard way.”
Solskjaer spoke ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Cavani’s former club Paris-Saint Germain.
The veteran Uruguayan international is the French club’s all-time top scorer and now hopes to face them for the first time since leaving in the summer.
“Edinson is ready to play,” Solskjaer said as United look to follow up their 2-1 victory at the Parc des Princes with another positive result.
“Of course it is special for him to play against PSG, his old club where he is the top scorer, so that will affect him mentally.
“But knowing him, I know that will give him energy and he will be ready.
“He is so professional, experienced. Of course he will work on his mentality (Tuesday and Wednesday) to be ready for the game, which is the same with the FA (research).
“He has learned a lesson and it could affect him, but he will have to put it aside when the game starts.
“The best players can put their problems or other thoughts aside for a while and then act when necessary.”
Solskjaer is a longtime Cavani fan, who he said was “like a Viking, almost like a warrior” when the then-PSG striker arrived at Old Trafford in February 2019.
“We Vikings never give up,” said the Norwegian.
“We never give up. We have the right attitude, the right mindset. Maybe that wasn’t fair to Edinson, but it was a compliment.”
“I always look at the mentality of the players and their ability to play and do well even if you don’t have a perfect day, because you know they have talent.
“He could have talked about his predatory instincts and his movement, but what I always saw from him was the ability to work for the team and be a team player and we’ve seen him here because of the pace of work he puts in.
“He’s at the top of the tree if you look at the career statistics of the strikers in the Premier League and he’s 33 years old, which says everything about his mentality.”
Solskjaer says that “everyone raised their hands and are available for selection” against PSG, including David De Gea, despite coming out at halftime with a blow in Southampton.
United only need one point from their two remaining matches to secure progress to the knockout stage, but the Norwegian is only interested in leading Group H.
“The faster you can qualify the better, of course,” added Solskjaer. “With a victory, we will win the group, so that is our intention.
“We want to go out our style, with the intention of attacking, defending well against a superior team with some top-tier individual players, of course.
“But our mentality is to win this game and we have won the group.”
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