Charlotte. Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa on Friday rejected the potential for sanctions in opposition to gamers from the Celeste for a brawl within the stands on the finish of the Copa America semi-final loss in opposition to Colombia after their family have been attacked.

“When the US felt that its pursuits have been being attacked, it created FIFAgate, with the FBI, they did what they did, but it surely was for their very own pursuits. Right here (within the Copa America) nothing occurred, nothing occurred right here: the fields, this was a unprecedented social gathering, full stadiums, competitiveness, refereeing, there’s nothing to complain about,” Bielsa mentioned paradoxically when questioning the group.

“In a rustic that was able to FIFAgate, now it seems that the blame needs to be positioned on the gamers,” he complained, visibly upset, on the press convention previous to Saturday’s third-place match between Uruguay and Canada at Financial institution of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

FIFAgate uncovered a corruption scandal in 2015 involving high officers in world soccer, together with these from the then board of administrators of CONMEBOL and CONCACAF, for which a number of of them have been prosecuted, most of them in the US.

Conmebol introduced on Thursday that it had opened a disciplinary file to determine “tasks” for the incident, calling it “unacceptable.”

The physique accountable for organizing the Copa América didn’t present additional particulars, but it surely was revealed {that a} dozen Uruguayan footballers are below investigation, with the potential for sanctions forward of Uruguay’s matches in opposition to Paraguay and Venezuela in September within the resumption of South American qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, which might be co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada.

“Witch hunt”

“That is all a witch hunt. ‘No, nicely, look, we will sanction them and we will sanction them so that they comply within the match for third place’ and now ‘no, not anymore for third place, as a result of there’s an excessive amount of public repercussion, so we will have to consider the qualifiers’. A shame, a shame! In a rustic that, because the organiser, has accountability,” mentioned Bielsa, visibly offended.

“The gamers reacted as any human being would,” mentioned the Argentine coach.

“In the event you see that there’s a course of to stop what occurred from taking place, for those who see that there’s a course of to mitigate it, that’s, an escape route, and each issues don’t occur and they’re attacking your spouse, your mom, a child, your spouse, your sister, what do you do? Are you going to punish those that went to defend them?” he harassed.

The Uruguayan gamers reported that their family have been attacked by Colombian supporters on the finish of the match.

“I insurgent!”

Bielsa additionally criticised the poor situation of the enjoying fields and coaching pitches on the Copa América.

“I insurgent! (…) as a result of one acts out of concern, as a result of one is continually threatened. So, I am drained,” declared the Uruguay coach.

“They do not say: ‘I will provide you with an ideal pitch’. They are saying: ‘I will provide you with a pitch that is already been put in’. And the unions do not shut!” (…). “The coaching pitches have been a catastrophe!” he argued.

Different coaches, resembling Argentina’s nationwide coach, Lionel Scaloni, criticised the state of the pitch of their matches within the continental cup.

“Scaloni was advised: ‘You have already spoken as soon as, do not converse once more, in any other case we’ll pay the implications’. And he himself mentioned it,” Bielsa commented on the matter.

“Apologize”

Returning to the semi-final brawl, Bielsa mentioned that as a substitute of sanctioning the organisers, they need to apologise to the gamers for what occurred.

“Apologise, man. Why are you going to droop us if all it’s important to do is say: we made such errors, we’re accountable, we take accountability, and that is it,” declared the Celeste supervisor.

“In the US, you enter an individual’s dwelling and the best to safety exists, proportionately. Uruguayan soccer leaders stop you from getting into the place they’re and it seems that they’ve to go away the nation so they do not go to jail, however the place has this been seen?”

Bielsa mentioned: “This has nothing to do with the gamers, the gamers have been pressured to do that. The sanction will not be for the gamers, however for individuals who pressured them to behave the way in which they did. They’d no selection, they have been left with out a selection.”