November 23 – Fat-shaming Panamanian FA president Manuel Arias (pictured) is under suspension from all football activity for a second time, after failing to abide by the terms of his suspension of his firs 6-month ban.
The new ban is for another six months and comes with a CHF 20,000 fine. He was fined CHF 10,000 for the first sanction.
FIFA said Arias breached “article 21 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC), namely having failed to respect the decision rendered by the Adjudicatory Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee on 15 November 2024.”
Arias’ original breach was “for breaches of article 24 paragraphs 1 and 2 (Protection of physical and mental integrity) of the FIFA Code of Ethics following his derogatory comments regarding players of the national team.”
During his first suspension Arias refused to observe the football ban but instead still involved himself in the business of the federation.
Arias was banned for six months for fat-shaming comments he made in a media interview about the country’s star women’s striker Marta Cox after Panama were knocked out of the group stage of the Concacaf W Gold Cup in March 2024.
The comments Arias made shocked women’s football in the region for both their nature and the personal attack on Cox.
Responding to a media question on what was wrong with Panama’s football after her team had been knocked out following losses to Brazil, Colombia, and Puerto Rico, Cox said the biggest problem facing players in Panama is the lack of good quality facilities to develop players.
Arias, angry that Cox expressed her opinion on the state of the domestic game in Panama (Cox plays for Xolos de Tijuana in Mexico), turned the debate personal, saying: “Marta Cox stopped to talk about our league. She’s out of shape, she’s fat, she couldn’t move on the pitch.”
“You have to do ‘mea culpa’ and the players were not physically well,” said Arias. “It’s very easy to talk, but she doesn’t know anything about the Panama league for years, she doesn’t know what’s going on here.”
Following his ban, in a statement on X, Arias apologised for the “very unfortunate language used”, that he was aware of his error and that he accepted his punishment.
He stopped short of offering his resignation saying that first vice president of the Panama FA, Fernando Arce, will take his position until he returns, saying he will “do so at 100%”.
He also stopped short of respecting FIFA’s Ethics Committee decision in November 2024.
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