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Gary Neville Says Diversity Training Should Be 'Compulsory' After Edinson Cavani Post

Gary Neville Says Diversity Training Should Be 'Compulsory' After Edinson Cavani Post

Neville was shocked that something hasn't been done yet.

Max Miller

Max Miller

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has called on players to take compulsory diversity training on a regular basis after Edinson Cavani's social media post that contained an offensive word.

Cavani has since deleted the post and apologised after saying 'gracias n*grito' when replying to a friend on Instagram.

It is a similar situation to that of fellow Uruguayan Luis Suarez, who was punished for referring to Patrice Evra by the term "n*gro" in 2011.

After the FA opened an investigation into Cavani's post, Neville expressed his shock that it has happened again, almost 10 years after the Suarez incident.

"We're here again aren't we," he said on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football. "We had an incident a few years ago at Liverpool when a similar word was used, with Luis Suarez.

"Still, football is incapable of putting a curriculum in place for its players, its fans, that is compulsory. Why is Edinson Cavani not subjected to diversity training, education, the minute he comes in to this country? Not to remid him of hid duties but to educate him.


"If we're truly going to root out discrimination in this country, it has to become part of the curriculum at school, it has to become part of the curriculum in sport, every employer in the country has to enter into a diversity training inclusion programme and implement it.

"Still to this day in football, we have banners being held, we have players taking a knee, we have flags in the air, we were badges on our chests. Where is the education and training?

"This could have been prevented. We're still going to continue to see incidents like this, where Edinson Cavani, at five o'clock yesterday afternoon, didn't have a clue that he was doing anything wrong, and within 24 hours he's having to apologise.

"The Premier League, the FA, the EFL, the League Managers' Assocation, and the PFA. There's five of them. They're all funded. They've all got lots of money. Put a diversity and inclusion set of protocols and processes in place, that are fixed, that all five buy up to.

Edinson Cavani Manchester United
Edinson Cavani Manchester United

"We've got five different slogans. We've got Black Lives Matter that's being applied in football. We've got Show Racism The Red Card. We've got No Room For Racism. We've got Kick It Out. We've got Players Together. They can't even come together on a singular campaign.

"At least collaborate on important issues that are societal. Drive it out of the game, root out the discrimination. It's got to e done by education and training.

"That means players, and us, and everybody else that takes part in this game, have bi-weekly, monthly training on diversity and inclusion, why people take offence to certain words and some people don't. If it offends someone it's a problem.

"To me, this is going to continue to happen, and we're not going to be able to deal with it until this education, this curriculum is in place. Then put it into schools, so that diversity and inclusion is part of the school curriculum as well."


Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez
Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez

The FA is now investigating the Cavani incident, which came after the Uruguayan scored a brace against Southampton on Sunday to give Man United a 3-2 comeback victory over Southampton.

Luis Suarez received an eight-match ban for his incident in 2011.

Featured Image Credit: PA/Sky Sports

Topics: Football News, Football, Manchester United, Man utd, Man United, Gary Neville, Edinson Cavani