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The FMF announced today that the little get together a few players had after Mexico's friendly against Colombia in Monterrey was an act so heinous in its nature, that fines and sanctions had to be levied. A meaningless friendly with an interim coach, no less.
National Team Director, Nestor de la Torre, was at his grandstanding best, holding the "employee handbook" and reading exactly which 4 rules were violated.
The guilty parties were all fined 50,000 pesos, which will be donated to charities in Ciudad Juarez and Veracruz, for violating one of the 4 rules. Carlos Vela and Efrain Juarez were additionally suspended for 6 months for violating all 4 rules.
Did the players have a little party? Yes they did. So what. Monterrey has become very iffy lately, according to a friend of mine who lives there. There is a lot more violence in the streets. The players wanted to let off some steam after a week of training, so they rented a meeting room at the hotel.
I couldn't think of a better way for a team to have a get together: a private party in a controlled environment.
The only thing they could not control was the press, who stood behind the velvet rope, wondering if they were cool enough to get in.
They couldn't, so they ripped the players for it. Speculating on who was being allowed in & what was going on inside as well as sanctimoniously saying how they were setting a bad example. For whom? For them, apparently. Most of them will applaud this decision. Some already have. Read the comments. Notice this disconnect?
The national team has to be respected, de la Torre said. Of course, this is the same organization that repeatedly fleeces same said national team. Let's take a look at their recent track record:
They have yet to name a national team coach. Mainly because their ridiculous "gentleman's pact" has the Toluca brass all in a snit. Guadalajara, signed their former GM without their "permission."
In the last 4 year cycle, Mexico failed to qualify for the Olympics, and two other youth world cups.
They hired and fired 4 coaches for the senior national team in a span of one year.
But they make a ton of money, so as far as they are concerned, everything is great. They are masters of the universe.
All that matters to the FMF is money anyway, so the cynic in me thinks that genesis of this punishment is a response to something else.
Perhaps the FMF spent a little money for a private party of their own, and the players snubbed them.
Or maybe it was a sponsor's party. After all, losing a sponsor is far worse to the FMF than anything that happens on the field.