5 footballers who were banned for racism

#5: Edwin Cardona

Colombia's Edwin Cardona made a racist gesture towards South Korean players

Colombia’s Edwin Cardona might not have used racist language towards an opponent, but an offensive gesture made towards South Korea’s captain Sung-Yueng Ki landed him in just as much hot water, as he was banned by FIFA for five international games following the incident in November 2017.

During a friendly game between the two international sides, Cardona found himself caught up in a mild scuffle between his teammate James Rodriguez, and Korean players Ki and Jin-Su Kim. As the referee attempted to calm matters down, Cardona was caught on camera making a “squinting-eyes” gesture towards the Korean captain, which went unnoticed by the referee but horrified fans who were watching the game.

FIFA was outraged too and decided to sanction Cardona, banning him for five international games for “making a discriminatory gesture towards an opponent”. Luckily for Cardona, FIFA appeared to have some mercy – allowing the player to serve his ban during friendly games and thus meaning he’d still be eligible for the World Cup in Russia.

Cardona apologized for any offense he’d caused with the gesture, but the damage had already been done – he’d joined perhaps the most shameful list of players in modern football.