Wednesday, April 27, 2005
CONCACAF gets tough....sorta
Actually very little here surprises me. First off, It's taken me a over a week to even notice the story. But as it's about the CONCACAF Champions Cup, it's hardly surprising. I'm actually shocked I found the story.
Costa Rican side, Saprissa, have been fined US$10,000 for the actions of their fans. This took place in the game against Mexican side, Monterrey, in the first leg of their series a few weeks ago.
The Salvadoran Ref disallowed a goal (which I thought was perfectly good) and the Saprissa fans objected to the call by throwing debris on the pitch. The TV camera's caught a coin hitting the Ref. He wasn't too happy and stopped the match for a while fearing security wasn't adequate.
Now, when you compare this with the fine imposed after the Milan derby....well, it shows the difference in income between teams from each league. The fact that CONCACAF actually imposed a fine on Saprissa is the most shocking bit. It's not like US players getting pelted by debris while playing World Cup Qualifiers in Costa Rica hasn't made the media in this country on more than one occasion...so the fact that this time action was taken is probably most shocking here.
Turns out, the match in question finished 2-2 and the return leg in Mexico ended 1-1. The Costa Ricans advanced on penalties. We'll see what happens in the final (Saprissa vs Mexican side, Pumas) when American Brian Hall will be in charge of the match in Costa Rica.
Interestingly, Guatemalan side Municipal were also fined US$10,000 for problems in their match against Monterrey in the previous round. Why is Monterrey always at the center of trouble? Or are they the only team to complain? ¶ 2:22 PM
Costa Rican side, Saprissa, have been fined US$10,000 for the actions of their fans. This took place in the game against Mexican side, Monterrey, in the first leg of their series a few weeks ago.
The Salvadoran Ref disallowed a goal (which I thought was perfectly good) and the Saprissa fans objected to the call by throwing debris on the pitch. The TV camera's caught a coin hitting the Ref. He wasn't too happy and stopped the match for a while fearing security wasn't adequate.
Now, when you compare this with the fine imposed after the Milan derby....well, it shows the difference in income between teams from each league. The fact that CONCACAF actually imposed a fine on Saprissa is the most shocking bit. It's not like US players getting pelted by debris while playing World Cup Qualifiers in Costa Rica hasn't made the media in this country on more than one occasion...so the fact that this time action was taken is probably most shocking here.
Turns out, the match in question finished 2-2 and the return leg in Mexico ended 1-1. The Costa Ricans advanced on penalties. We'll see what happens in the final (Saprissa vs Mexican side, Pumas) when American Brian Hall will be in charge of the match in Costa Rica.
Interestingly, Guatemalan side Municipal were also fined US$10,000 for problems in their match against Monterrey in the previous round. Why is Monterrey always at the center of trouble? Or are they the only team to complain? ¶ 2:22 PM
