FIFA bans Panama soccer president for fat-shaming star player

FIFA has suspended Panama’s soccer federation president in the wake of fat-shaming comments he aimed at a star player on Panama’s national team last May.

The decision to ban Manuel Arias, who is the acting president of the Panamanian Football Federation known as FEPAFUT, will be barred from the international soccer league for six months.

“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,” a statement from FEPAFUT said late Thursday.

As replacement, First Vice President Fernando Arce will be taking over the lead duties, the statement added.

Arias’ sanction comes months after he directed body-shaming comments towards the Panama women’s national team in response to a comment by star player Marta Cox.

After her team was knocked out of an international tournament last spring, Cox told local media that Panama players’ greatest hurdle was their lack of adequate facilities at home.

The comment sparked an outburst from Arias, who told reporters that Cox is “out of shape, she’s fat, she couldn’t move on the pitch.”

Arias added that Cox, who made history in 2023 for scoring Panama’s first-ever Women’s World Cup goal, “doesn’t know anything about the Panama league for years, she doesn’t know what’s going on here.”

Arias’ comments pushed Cox to announce that she was not sure she would keep her spot on the team, saying in a statement in May, “If this type of situation becomes a constant, I will not return to defend the colours of the Panama national team.”

Quickly after, the federation said Arias “pledged” he would not repeat those comments.

“In the Federation we are committed to continue working for women’s football, as we have been doing for the last five years through sports and training programs focused on women,” the federation said in a statement last May.

Nonetheless, FIFA has decided to bar the president from the league, a decision that FEPAFUT said they had no part in.

“It is important to emphasize that the Panamanian Football Federation is not a party to any past or present proceedings before any FIFA jurisdictional body and this sanction imposed on the president does not, and will not, affect the normal functioning of the institution,” the federation’s statement Thursday said.

After the ban was announced Thursday, Arias took to social media to acknowledge what he called his “unfortunate” language.

“I used some very unfortunate language that should never be used,” Arias said on X.

The federation added that they still hope to continue with their goal of promoting the women’s team “through concrete actions such as equalizing 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 continued development of the Women’s and Men’s Youth Tournaments in their U-14 and U-16 categories.”

Still, the federation continued, it recognizes “we still have work to do.”

FIFA has not yet responded to NBC News’ request for comment.