Colombian international Edwin Cardona was handed a five-match ban by FIFA on Tuesday after being found to have made a “discriminatory” gesture during a friendly against South Korea last month.
Cardona was caught on camera appearing to make a slant-eyes gesture during a minor scuffle between the two sides in the second half of the game at the Suwon World Cup stadium.
FIFA also fined the Boca Juniors attacking midfielder 20,000 Swiss francs ($20,173), with his suspension to be served in Colombia’s upcoming friendly matches.
After the match on November 10, South Korea captain, Swansea City midfielder Ki Sung-Yeung, slammed Cardona’s actions, saying “racist behaviour is absolutely unacceptable”.
Colombia currently only have one friendly scheduled before next year’s World Cup, against France in March, but will likely play five times before the finals start, which would allow Cardona to feature in their opening Group H game against Japan in Russia on June 19.- Agence France-Presse
