Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo
Sport
Ben Hayward

Marta Cox hits back after horrific body-shaming insult from Panama federation president

Panama's Marta Cox in action against France at the Women's World Cup in 2023.

Marta Cox has hit back at an unbelievable attack from Panama Federation president Manuel Arias and revealed she could quit the national team after being labelled "fat" and "out of shape" in controversial comments ahead of International Women's Day.

Cox had criticised the facilities in Panama after the Central Americans were knocked out of the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup in February.

The attacking midfielder is one of Panama's most emblematic players and netted a brilliant free-kick from 35 yards out against France in last year's World Cup.

Responding to Cox's criticism of the installations in Panama, Arias said: "Marta Cox stopped to talk about our league. She's out of shape, she's fat, she couldn't move on the pitch. 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."

Taken aback by those words, the midfielder said: "If this type of situation becomes a constant, I will not return for the national team. There were words used to describe me that certainly hurt me and were unexpected."

Panama's Federation has since apologised in a statement which said: "On International Women's Day... we regret the unfortunate term used by our president.

"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 programmes focused on women. That said, we know that there is still a lot more work to do."

In a statement through Panama's Association of Professional Footballers, Cox said that progress had not been made since last year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

"After the World Cup, I expected so much more," he said. "That desire to see steady progress led me to speak out after an unfortunate performance in the Gold Cup. We are the first to recognise that we were not up to the standard of the tournament, but that same introspection must go beyond just the players."

Cox plays her football in Mexico with Tijuana, having joined from Pachuca earlier this year.

More women's football stories

'If you keep women's football in smaller grounds, it will never grow' – Jill Scott on reconnecting with her inner football fan and the players she loves to watch

'Those things plague me' – Emma Hayes reveals motivation for leaving Chelsea

Ranked! The 50 best women's football players of all time

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.