Soccer has always been a sport that has many intricate stories to unravel. Whether it be the player’s transfers, club rivalries, or sometimes just the mere act of celebrating a goal, it’s a game that has the power of unifying and dividing people in the same breath. The recent CONCACAF Nations League saw the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) win the championship, with a stunning display of soccer. However, amidst all the excitement, the one thing that caught everyone’s attention was the bizarre decision of sacking Mexico’s head coach, Diego Cocca.
A WhatsApp group vote led to the sacking of Mexico’s coach
The CONCACAF semi-final was played between Mexico and the USMNT. The USMNT made a strong statement by winning the game 3-0. This ultimately led to the sacking of Diego Cocca four days later after taking third place in the tournament.
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This was not the first time Mexico had lost to the USMNT in the competition, but it seems like this time, the loss was too much to bear for the board members. Cocca was appointed as Mexico’s coach at the beginning of the year. In his 7 matches tenure, he got a track record of 3-3-1.
What makes this termination even more bizarre is the recent revelation that this decision was made via a WhatsApp group chat. Yes, you heard it right. A vote on a WhatsApp group led to the contract termination of the Mexico National Team’s head coach.
Listen to this .. can’t make this up.
Per @Faitelson_ESPN the decision to remove Diego Cocca from his post as coach of the Mexican National Team was left to a vote on WhatsApp. 🫠
The level of competence out of FMF is at an all time low. Así no. Así no.
— herculez gomez (@herculezg) June 22, 2023
This is certainly a pretty bizarre incident and has raised questions against Mexico’s soccer board, FMF, on how they are handling stuff. However, this is not the only controversial news related to the semi-final match. Even the match itself was filled with drama.
The Mexico-USMNT match had to be stopped midway
The heat was on during the match between USA and Mexico, but incidents involving anti-gay chants by Mexican fans hampered the game. Sadly, US team goalkeeper Matt Turner became a target of homophobic abuse from Mexican fans. This got so worse that the referee had to stop the match for a brief period.
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Play was halted in USA vs. Mexico after Mexican fans began chanting homophobic slurs.
The match ended early in stoppage time when the chanting resumed. pic.twitter.com/ct8wICkIj6
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 16, 2023
The game was also fraught with tension and incidents of fighting. Referee Ivan Barton had to eject players from both teams. Weston McKennie and Sergino Dest from the United States squad and Cesar Montes and Gerardo Arteaga from Mexico. All four were part of altercations that happened during the game.
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What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments.