By Lucy Perkins
The Guardian describes Mexico’s fired coach, Miguel Herrera, as “combustible.” Matt Rourke/AP hide caption
itoggle caption Matt Rourke/AP
Mexico’s soccer coach, Miguel Herrera, has been fired after allegations that he punched a TV reporter.
According to The Guardian, Herrera allegedly punched TV reporter Christian Martinoli while waiting in the TSA line at the Philadelphia airport on Monday.
The altercation came just two days after Mexico’s soccer team won the Gold Cup over Jamaica. The paper reports that incoming president Decio de Maria confirmed the coach’s termination at a press conference on Tuesday:
“De Maria said: ‘After listening to all my colleagues, I have made the decision to take Miguel Herrera out of the national team. It is not a simple decision, but it is the correct one.
” ‘Matches never finish, and as public figures we have to keep that in mind. Everyone has had an opinion, but our values have to be kept, and no one can be above the type of situation we saw on Monday at the Philadelphia airport.’ “
Herrera — whose nickname is El Piojo or “the louse” — has not commented on the punch, or his termination.
Herrera was hired in 2013 — the team’s fourth coach hired within two months at that point, according to The New York Times.
If you didn’t watch the World Cup last year, here’s a Vine of Herrera celebrating a Mexico win:
You can’t help but be happy for him when you see someone celebrating like this… http://t.co/anV35snUM9 #MiguelHerrera #NEDMEX #WorldCup
— Sabine Lisicki (@sabinelisicki) June 29, 2014
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.
