Panama international Marta Cox has threatened to not play again for the national team after the country’s soccer federation chief called her “fat” and “out of shape”.
After Panama were knocked out of the ongoing CONCACAF W Gold Cup, Cox complained about the lack of facilities in the country’s league.
Panama played at their first Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand last year, failing to make it out of the group stage as they lost all their matches, falling to France, Jamaica and Brazil. They conceded 11 goals and scored three.
Cox criticized the country’s federation saying that she did not see any changes in Panama after their World Cup campaign.
Her comments angered Manuel Arias, the president of Panama’s football federation (FEPAFUT).
Arias told the local media: “Marta Cox stopped to talk about our league. She’s out of shape, she’s fat, she couldn’t move on the pitch,” he said about the midfielder, who scored Panama’s first-ever World Cup goal.
“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,” he said about Cox, who plays for Tijuana in the Liga MX Femenil.
At the Gold Cup, Panama finished bottom of Group B, losing to Brazil, Colombia and Puerto Rico.
In a statement through Panama’s Association of Professional Footballers, Cox said: “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 recognize that we were not up to the standard of the tournament, but that same introspection must go beyond just the players. Personally, I feel that there were words used to describe me that certainly hurt me and were unexpected.
“If this type of situation becomes a constant, I will not return to defend the colors of the Panama national team.”
Panama’s football federation (FEPAFUT) said the federation regretted the words used by Arias, who promised to not repeat it in the future.
“On International Women’s Day… from the Panamanian Football Federation we regret the unfortunate term used by our president Manuel Arias in the local media,” the federation said.
“He himself has pledged that it will not be repeated. 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.
“That said, we know that there is still a lot more work to do.”
FIFPRO, the global players’ union, also condemned Arias’ comments, saying they were “unacceptable”.