Mexican
media outlets have been buzzing with indignation over the decision of Liguilla semifinalist
Cruz Azul to field Santiago Carmona in last Thursday's match against Pachuca. On
Wednesday, Carmona had received notice of a lifetime suspension by the Court of
Arbitration for Sport tribunal for repeated doping violations. The Mexican Football
Federation (FMF) and the club had also been notified. Carmona sought and
received an injunction from a federal judge stating the ban could not immediate
effect. Based on the judicial action, which came through prior to the start of
the match, Cruz Azul went ahead and fielded Carmona. And then all hell broke
loose when the story hit the media.
There was
widespread indignation by national sports commentators. No one was buying the
argument put forth by the club president that the Tribunal had put the wrong
date on the letter and that besides, the letter was in English. The Federation
punished the club's decision by preventing it from playing tomorrow's scheduled
semifinal match. Pachuca (my favorite Mexican football club) automatically
advances to the finals against the winner of the América-Chivas match. Pachuca had
soundly defeated Cruz Azul 3-1 last Thursday. (And that one goal was the
product of a dubious red card that may well be overturned by the Federation's
disciplinary committee.)
Cruz Azul's
penalty implies not only a premature end to its season but a heavy
out-of-pocket expense. The club will have to compensate Pachuca for lost ticket
revenue and TV Azteca for lost advertising revenue. Azteca America would have
benefited from transmitting the second semifinal match between Cruz Azul and
Pachuca. It would have brought in high ratings and been paired with the Chivas-América
match. Cruz Azul's decision to shoot itself in the foot will somewhat diminish the benefits that Azteca America was expecting to reap from the Liguilla semifinals.
Not a major
loss but a minor setback for a Spanish-language television network that needs
every strong ratings performance it can get.
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