Mexican soccer fans on both sides of the border expressed disappointment at Tuesdays news: Eight players in Mexicos U-22 national team in Argentina for the Copa Amércia tournament were suspended because they possibly had prostitutes in their hotel.
Mexicos Soccer Commission announced that each player will be suspended from the team for six months and fined 50,000 pesos (about $4,350). They are Israel Jiménez, Néstor Vidrio, David Cabrera, Jorge Hernández, Jonathan dos Santos, Marco Fabián, Javier Cortés, Néstor Calderón and Héctor González Iñárritu.
Mexicos U-22 team played in Tijuana on June 15 against a team from Colombia, part of a tour of friendly matches to prepare for the Copa América tournament in Argentina, one of the most important international competitions in the world. The tournament begins Friday and continues to July 24.
The commissions director, Héctor González Iñárritu, said the suspensions stemmed from an incident Saturday night in Ecuador, where the team played. He said the players violated the commissions code of conduct.
Sources close to the team said that the suspensions are related to the possible presence of prostitutes in the players hotel rooms, after they watched the final of the Gold Cup, in which Mexico beat the United States at the Rose Bowl. One of the Mexican heroes of that match Giovani Dos Santos has a brother on the U-22 team, Jonathan dos Santos, who was among those suspended.
This type of punishment is not new. Last September, some players on Mexicos national team allegedly took prostitutes to their hotel rooms in Monterey for a private party. They were suspended from the team and also fined.
The eight players who will serve as substitutes in the U-22 team are Kristian Álvarez, Osvaldo Alanís, Diego Debuen, Antonio Gallardo, Edgar Pacheco, Alan Pulido, Ulises Dávila and Carlos Orrantía. They were to fly immediately to Argentina to join the team.
