Football agents put their stars on cultural and diversity courses following Edinson Cavani storm

Football agencies will organise cultural and diversity training for their foreign clients to try to avoid the type of race controversy that has left Edinson Cavani facing a ban.

Manchester United and Uruguay striker Cavani is in hot water for using the term negrito in a social media post after his match-winning brace against Southampton on Sunday. 

He apologised and said he used the word as an ‘affectionate greeting to a friend’. United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said on Tuesday his player was not aware the term could be seen as offensive and the club have since explained the word’s connotations to Cavani.

This week’s furore — and a case last year that saw Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva handed a one-game ban for comparing team-mate Benjamin Mendy to the black mascot of a Spanish confectionery company — has led to calls for greater education for foreign footballers in England. 

And agencies are now preparing to bypass the footballing authorities and clubs, and offer their clients cultural education courses. 

A number of companies already provide social media training to educate players on how to avoid trouble.

The FA are also likely to update their own equality, diversity and inclusion education courses.