Player Selfishness Amid COVID Pandemic Shines Light on Discipline Issues Holding Liga MX Back
As we all know the COVID Pandemic is far from over and amidst the current state of the world, some sports leagues have successfully restarted. Among those leagues was Liga MX with their Guardianes 2020 tournament. However, they have not had the results that other leagues like the Bundesliga and Premier League had. Games have constantly been postponed due to outbreaks and some top players don’t seem to get the message.
The most recent incident involved Chivas’ Alexis Vega and Uriel Antuna, who broke protocol to celebrate Antuna’s birthday. Both were suspended indefinitely by the team for behavior detrimental to the team. Antuna and Vega are just the latest in a long line of players breaking rules set for the safety of the team and other teams during the tournament. Vega and Antuna joined teammate La Chofis Lopez as Chivas players who have been caught breaking the safety restrictions.
David Cabrera, Juan Pablo Vigón, Alan Mozo y Sebastián Saucedo were fined around $910 each for breaking UNAM’s quarantine to play padel. Felinos Javier Aquino, Jose Francisco Torres, Diego Reyes, and Edu Vargas were videotaped at parties, failing to follow safety mandates. Jonathan Orozco hosted a party while at Santos that may have led to the outbreak at the club. He joined fellow keeper Hugo Gonzalez who also had a party for his birthday, which caused himself and Dorlan Pabon to miss Los Rayados Week 2 match up. Reyes, who was also at the party, later tested positive for the virus.
In contrast, countries like England, Italy, and Germany who we are trying to emulate, were able to resume their tournaments and even the Champions League without any major outbreaks as players took on the responsibility to make the restarts work.
In Liga Mx nevertheless some players would rather indulge in self-gratification than set an example for their fans. While they may not have asked to be role models, their occupation in a soccer-crazy country elevates them to that status and comes with certain responsibilities. Especially, after the AMFPro stated that players’ salaries can’t be cut during the pandemic, while many of their countrymen are struggling to make ends meet due to job loss. Mexico is still struggling to deal with the pandemic, and if people see their heroes throwing caution to the wind, they will follow suit and add to a problem that is getting worse.
Unfortunately, these players are only proving that statements made by Gattusso and former Tri Coach Osorio regarding the mental strength of Mexican players are valid. At a time where the world is watching many of these players who have European ambitious are watching their stock drop as they are showing a complete lack of discipline at a crucial time.
