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Marta Cox has threatened to quit playing for Panama after the national football federation president called her “fat” and “out of shape”.
Panama Football Federation president Manuel Arias made the comments after the 26-year-old criticised the country’s facilities following her side’s exit at the Concacaf W Gold Cup in February. The Tijuana player, who scored a stunning 35-yard free-kick in last year’s World Cup against France, has now vowed to boycott the national side if this continues.
In response to Cox’s initial criticism, Arias responded: “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.”
The midfielder retorted: “If this type of situation becomes a constant, I will not return for the national team. There were words used to describe me that certainly hurt me and were unexpected.”
The Panama football federation has since apologised for Arias’ comments, saying he has “pledged that it will not be repeated”.
The federation added: “On International Women’s Day… we regret the unfortunate term used by our president. 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 programmes focused on women. That said, we know that there is still a lot more work to do.”
It remains to be seen if Cox will return to play for Panama following this situation.
The former Pachuca star previously said in a statement through the Panama’s Association of Professional Footballers: “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. 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.”
