Six players of Chile’s national team were discredited on Sunday. Jean Meneses, Arturo Vidal, Gary Medel, Pablo Galdames, Pablo Aránguiz and Eduardo Vargas are said to have broken the ‘player bubble’ by celebrating with several women at the Gran Hotel Odara in the Brazilian city of Cuiabá. Chile is currently staying there, because the Copa América game with Uruguay is scheduled in the same city on Monday.
The report is made by the Argentine marca, which speaks of ‘non-disciplinary behaviour’ of the players involved. The message has since been confirmed by the Chilean federation. The sports newspaper also reports that there may be heavy sanctions hanging over the heads of the six names. National coach Martín Lasarte is said to be considering suspending the players, who may be sent back to Chile and not be allowed to play for the remainder of the tournament.
A press conference will be held later in the day and Lasarte is expected to make a statement there. It is not the first time this tournament that part of the Chilean selection has been negatively in the news. The day before the meeting in the World Cup qualifier with Bolivia (1-1), Medel and Vidal were fined 25,000 euros by CONMEBOL for inviting a hairdresser to the hotel and thereby not respecting the ‘player bubble’.
The incident with the women could have major consequences for the further course of the tournament for Chile. Vidal, Medel, Aránguiz, Meneses and Vargas all got a starting spot against Argentina, while Galdames could count on a substitute. In Group A, the Chileans are currently second behind Argentina, with Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia following in their wake. The game against Uruguay will follow for Chile at 11 p.m. Dutch time on Monday, although it remains to be seen whether the six players involved will kick off.
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