CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – Mexico routed Cuba 5-0 Thursday but the hot topic of the night continued to be El Tri's doping scandal.

Mexico coach José Manuel de la Torre, along with Hector Iñaturri, the director of national team, and the team's doctor, José Luis Serrano, addressed the media after the game to discuss the suspension of five Mexican players.

De la Torre didn't have much to say about the situation that leaves him with five fewer players on his roster after the Mexican Federation suspended Guillermo Ochoa, Francisco Rodríguez, Antonio Naelson "Sinha," Edgar Dueñas and Christian Bermudez.

They all tested positive for clenbuterol, a banned anabolic agent used to treat breathing disorders, during the team's training camp in Mexico before to the Gold Cup.

"I am here to speak about soccer and the match," de la Torre said. "For whatever other situation, the doctor is here and so is the (director)."

The director said that the incident was accidental and he guaranteed there was no way the suspended players had used any type of supplement that could have triggered a positive test result.

"This is an accident," Iñaturri said. "There is no negligence here. We are very strict with ourselves. We are one of the few federations that conduct these tests before entering a competition. We are open here, we are transparent. That's why we are letting you know about this unfortunate news because of our ethics and morals."

In an attempt to try and prove the suspended player's innocence, Iñaturri said he will fly with those five players to Los Angeles on Friday. They will be submitted for further testing at UCLA.

"We will wait for all the results and see what the department of agriculture in Mexico finds in the meat what we used," Iñaturri said. "We'll expect the results which I am sure will be negative."

Serrano, the team doctor, said it was rare for five players to have tested positive for that substance. He said the players were not given any other type of supplements during the time it is said the contaminated meat was consumed.

The doctor said that one player was given antibiotics and something for diarrhea and another was given anti-inflammatory medicine to treat some swelling.

"There is no remote absolute possibility that this happened because of a supplement," Serrano said. "I think there is no literature that has five positive tests with only one substance in one event."

Germany's anti-doping agency has issued a warning to its athletes about consuming meat in Mexico because of it being tainted with clenbuterol (sometimes spelled clembuterol).

Serrano said it has become very popular to use this substance in meat in Mexico.

The United States Anti-Doping Agency has published reports of clenbuterol use to promote growth in livestock, including cattle, lamb, poultry and swine. Such use is illegal in the United States and Europe.

The agency said in those reports that the risk of a positive drug test from ingesting meat contaminated by clenbuterol is remote.

The USADA website says that in the last 10 years, the agency has performed more than 75,000 tests worldwide. There has been only one case with a clenbuterol positive result.

The agency said that the positive test was the result of the use of a contaminated supplement, not from eating contaminated meat.

The USADA has reported only six cases in which athletes have shown their clenbuterol positive test to be from contaminated meat. The athletes in those cases were cleared and were not sanctioned.

Iñaturri said Mexico has talked with its meat distributor, considered to be elite, and it will investigate if this was a case of an isolated piece of meat that was contaminated. He said the federation will do what it can to prevent purchasing more contaminated meat.

In the meantime, Mexico has requested that the suspended players are replaced.

CONCACAF General Secretary Chuck Blazer said a meeting of the confederation's national teams committee, which also serves as the organizing committee of the Gold Cup, will be convened Friday to consider the situation, including possibly allowing Mexico to replace the five players.

There are also published reports that El Salvador will dispute the results of their match against Mexico, a 5-0 loss, last week in Dallas.

Iñaturri said there is no chance the game result will be reversed. There is no word from tournament organizers yet.

But El Salvador coach Ruben Israel is hoping something can be done.

"We will wait and see what happens with CONCACAF," Israel said after his team tied 1-1 with Costa Rica on Thursday. "My federation for sure will do everything it can if this is confirmed. It would hurt plenty if something like (doping) happened when we prepared ourselves physically and spiritually the best we could. This is a very delicate situation that touches the players' morale and the morale of a national team."

Ivan.orozco@sandiegored.com