Edinson Cavani regrets calling Jamaica an 'African team'

Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani has been forced to apologise after describing Copa America opponents Jamaica as an “African team”.

Cavani made the gaffe ahead of the Group B opener between the two countries in Chile on Saturday. Jamaica, a CONCACAF nation, are competing as a guest team after Japan turned down an invite.

But when asked what he thought of the defending champions’ first opponents, Cavani said: “As any other African team, Jamaica are going to be strong.” The Paris Saint-Germain striker was soon alerted to his mistake and posted an apology on Twitter.

“First I want to apologise to Jamaica and its people,” he wrote. “I wanted to make a comparison between similar styles and playing characteristics between Jamaican national team and those of African sides but honestly I only put across half that thought and it came out sounding awful.

“In any case I’d like to publicly ask for forgiveness and I hope my mistake will be taken with humour rather than offence.”

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