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Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa slammed Copa America organizers while saying that the tournament hasn’t been professional. Bielsa criticized the security and pitch conditions during the tournament. His comments came after an ugly brawl unfolded between Uruguay players and Colombian fans after their semi-final exit. Ahead of the third-place playoff against Canada, the Uruguay manager slammed the tournament organizers and questioned the disciplinary proceedings opened by CONMEBOL.
During the press conference, he said, “The only thing I can tell you is that the players reacted like any other human being would. If you see that there’s a process to keep what happened from happening. If you see that if what happened happens anyways, and that there’s supposedly another process — an escape hatch, let’s say — and both things fail, and you see your woman, or your mother, or a baby, being attacked, what would you do?”
He added, “You’re asking me if I’m scared of sanctions? How am I going to be afraid of a sanction that should be impossible to even happen? This is a witch hunt. It is a shame. Criticizing the turf in America, Biesla continued, “They do press conferences and say ‘no, the fields are perfect, the training pitches are perfect. I have all the photos that show that these are all lies. This is a plague of liars. Now, I’ve already said everything I promised. I wouldn’t say. These are all punishments coming.”
The former Leeds United manager didn’t mince his words and went on to criticize reporters and media also. The 68-year-old said, “Journalism responds to the interests of those who administer power, who are the ones who distribute money. There is a percentage of journalism that responds to this. Those who do not respond to the interests of power are the ones who suffer because they are loyal."
