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PANAMA CITY, Panama — FIFA has banned the president of Panama's soccer federation for a fat-shaming comment about a star player in the women's national team. Manual Arias suggested midfielder Marta Cox was "fat" after she made critical comments about the set-up at the national team, which qualified for the 2023 Women's World Cup. The Panamanian federation says FIFA suspended Arias for six months until July 14. The ban removes Arias from men's national team games in the CONCACAF Nations League, two 2026 World Cup qualifiers and the Gold Cup tournament in the United States. The 27-year-old Cox recently signed for Turkish club Fenerbahce.
