FIFA has suspended president of the Panama Football Federation (FEPAFUT) Manuel Arias after he called national team player Marta Cox “fat” and “out of shape”.
Arias has been banned from all football-related activity for six months and fined CHF 10,000 ($10,932, £8,981) after FIFA’s ethics committee found him to be in breach of the governing body’s code of ethics for his remarks in March 2024.
Arias called his comments “very unfortunate language” and “a very serious mistake”, and said he accepted the sanction.
Midfielder Cox, 27, had spoken to local media about a perceived lack of facilities in Panama in the wake of the country’s 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup group stage exit. In response, Arias was quoted by Reuters as telling reporters: “Marta Cox stopped to talk about our league. She’s out of shape, she’s fat, she couldn’t move on the pitch.
“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.”
FIFA described the comments as “derogatory” and said Arias had been sanctioned due to breaches of article 24 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the FIFA code of ethics.
Article 24 refers to “protection of physical and mental integrity” and states: “Persons bound by this code shall protect, respect and safeguard the integrity and personal dignity of others. Persons bound by this code shall not use offensive gestures and language in order to insult someone in any way or to incite others to hatred or violence.”
Cox represented Panama at the 2023 World Cup (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
A statement from FEPAFUT read: “The Panamanian Football Federation has been notified of a sanction imposed on Mr. Manuel Arias, President of the FPF, by the FIFA Ethics Committee for the inappropriate use of language towards a player of the Panama Women’s National Team.
“President Arias was sanctioned for 6 months until July 14, 2025, a period during which he will not be able to participate in activities related to federated football.
“According to our statutes, in the absence of President Arias, first vice president Fernando Arce will lead functions until the sanction ends.”
Arias released a statement in March in the wake of the comments, apologising to Cox. He posted a second statement on X following the FIFA verdict which read: “I want to express that, beyond the apologies that I made personally and publicly, both on March 2 through social networks and on March 7 in a statement, it does not hurt to make it clear again that I am aware of the serious mistake committed, that one must accept the consequences of one’s actions and that one also accepts the sanction received from the FIFA Ethics Committee.”
Panama made their Women’s World Cup debut in 2023, with Cox scoring their maiden goal at the tournament.
However, the team exited the 2024 Gold Cup at the group stage after three defeats — including heavy losses to Colombia and Brazil — and having failed to score a goal at the tournament.
Cox joined Fenerbahce in January from Liga MX side Tijuana, having spent the last four years playing her domestic football in the Mexican top flight.
She has been capped 42 times at international level but in March threatened not to play for her country again following Arias’ comments. She has since returned to the national team fold.
“After the World Cup, I expected so much more. That desire to see steady progress led me to speak out after an unfortunate performance in the Gold Cup,” she said in a statement through Panama’s Association of Professional Footballers, as reported by Reuters.
“We are the first to recognise that we were not up to the standard of the tournament, but that same introspection must go beyond just the players. Personally, I feel that there were words used to describe me that certainly hurt me and were unexpected.
“If this type of situation becomes a constant, I will not return to defend the colours of the Panama national team.”
(Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images)
