Mexico were undone in Honduras and their manager was hit by objects that were thrown from the crowd, drawing blood, but the home nation have accused the Mexican manager of inciting the violence
Mexico boss Javier Aguirre was hit with a beer can thrown from the stands and left with blood pouring down his face – but has been accused of inciting the attack.
The Mexicans were beaten 2-0 at Honduras this week as Luis Palma scored twice for the South Americans. After the match Aguirre went to shake hands with his opposite number, Reinaldo Rueda, but was hit in the head as objects were thrown from the stands.
Aguirre was still able to attend the press conference despite individuals running to check on his wellbeing as blood began pouring from his head. The Mexico manager then insisted he “wasn’t one to complain” as he refused to put the spotlight on the incident.
He said: “Nothing, nothing, it’s soccer, the game was clean, it was hard-fought, they deserved to win and all I can do is congratulate them. About the other thing, I don’t think it’s important. This is football, and there’s no point in mentioning the other stuff because I’m not one to complain.”
Honduras manager Rueda condemned the actions as he added: “I’m sad about what happened at the end. That truly can’t ever happen again, here or in any other stadium in Honduras or any stadium in the world.
“I’m sad because he’s a human being, because just like they hit [Aguirre], they could’ve hit me. That’s something that can’t happen, we send our apologies to Mexico, its people and Aguirre. The party gets damaged, all the efforts our players made on the pitch get tarnished. Something like this happening is regrettable.”
Honduras bosses too made their displeasure known but wanted to divide the blame as they accused the Mexico boss of inciting the crowd by insulting and provoking them throughout the contest.
Their statement read: “The Honduran Football Federation (FFH) regrets and strongly condemns the isolated actions of a small group of fans that do not represent the respectful behaviour of our fans as a whole. These incidents, which are absolutely reprehensible, do not define the conduct of the majority of those attending the stadium, and we therefore censure the acts against the coach of the Mexican national team that occurred at the end of the match.”
However, they went on to blame Aguirre and his coaching staff for causing the problems themselves, stating: “Likewise, the FFH categorically rejects the words, obnoxious gestures and provocative attitudes on the part of the coach of the Mexican national team, who insulted and provoked the Honduran fans from the beginning of the match.”
Despite the Honduras apportioning much of the blame with Mexico’s coach, CONCACAF has condemned the assault on the 65-year-old and referred the case to the its Disciplinary Commission for an investigation.
They said: “The safety of teams and fans is a priority for CONCACAF. Such violent behaviour has no place in football.”
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