You’d have thought football officials might be a little more lenient about rules governing messages on shirts after the Chapecoense tragedy, but no.
While there have been calls to postpone games in the Campeonato Brasiliero after the death of 19 footballers from the Copa Sudamericana finalists, games elsewhere have gone ahead as planned.
Grounds in England held a minute’s silence ahead of midweek kickoffs, with the tribute at Anfield particularly moving, while Manchester United manager José Mourinho spoke fondly of Chape manager Caio Júnior, who left behind many friends in Mourinho’s native Portugal.
But not all the messages of solidarity went off without a hitch, with one official choosing to book Paris Saint-Germain forward Edinson Cavani for honouring the victims of the plane crash in Medellín.
.@PSG_English's @ECavaniOfficial pays tribute to @ChapecoenseReal. #ForçaChape https://t.co/z7pUJtmqbc
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 30, 2016
Cavani scored PSG’s second goal in their 2-0 win over Angers, a second-half penalty after Hatem Ben Arfa was fouled by Romain Thomas, and revealed a T-shirt bearing the Brazilian club’s initials and the word ‘Fuerza’.
But referee Frank Schneider decided that the rules could not be bent, even in these circumstances, and brandished the yellow card, much to the disappointment of those who clearly hoped an exception would be made.
https://twitter.com/messi10stats/status/804246619390668800
Non MUFC Related but Cavani being booked for celebrating his 100th and dedicating it to the Chapecoense tragedy is ridiculous.. pic.twitter.com/mSgYSfOZIc
— 【九条】即日稼げるお店をご紹介【スカウト15年】 (@RedDevilsDaily) November 30, 2016
Cavani celebrated his goal tonight by taking off his shirt to a Chapecoense top. Yet he was still booked for it. Ridiculous.
— VOIROSSI (@voirossi) November 30, 2016
The 2-0 win lifted Paris Saint-Germain to second place in Ligue Un after rivals Monaco could only draw in Dijon on Tuesday night.
