Panama midfielder Marta Cox has said she may no longer represent her country after the president of Panama's football federation (FEPAFUT) described her as "fat" and "out of shape."
"If this situation becomes a constant, I will not return to defend the colours of the Panama national team," said Cox.
She had criticized Panama's facilities after their group exit at the Concacaf W Gold Cup last month, where Panama failed to earn a single point.
"Marta Cox stopped to talk about our league. She's out of shape, she's fat, she couldn't move on the pitch," said FEPAFUT president Manuel Arias soon after.
"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."
Cox, who scored Panama's first-ever Women's World Cup goal last summer with a 35-yard free kick against France, responded with a statement through Panama's Association of Professional Footballers.
"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 recognise 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."
FEPAFUT apologized in a statement and said the situation will not reoccur:
"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."
"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 programmes focused on women.
"That said, we know that there is still a lot more work to do."
