- Title: SOCCER-MEXICO/HERRERA Mexico fires coach Miguel Herrera after punching incident
- Date: 28th July 2015
- Summary: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (FILE) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF HERRERA DURING FOOTBALL TRAINING SESSION VARIOUS OF HERRERA DURING LAUNCH OF WAX WORK FIGURE VARIOUS OF HERRERA WITH FAMILY DURING LAUNCH OF WAX WORK FIGURE
- Embargoed: 12th August 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Mexico
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVABAX5VQK6A1L6Y2TJEJDZIV9QK
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Mexico's national football team coach Miguel Herrera has been dismissed, the president of the Mexican football federation, Decio de Maria, said on Tuesday (July 28), a day after Herrera allegedly punched a reporter at Philadelphia airport.
A sports journalist for Mexico's TV Azteca, Christian Martinoli, said on Monday (July 27) that Herrera threatened him and hit him in the neck at the airport.
Mexico's Football Federation President, de Maria, announced his decision at a packed news conference in the capital.
"I have rationalised and heard and taken the decision to separate from the (head of the) technical team of the national side, Miguel Herrera. It's not an easy decision, it's a complex decision. It (the decision) shows who we are and above all else what should happen," he declared.
The Mexican team was heading home a day after it won the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament when the incident allegedly took place.
But de Maria told media Herrera's conduct stands above his success on the field.
"I think that Miguel understands the basis of the decision and at the end of the day, as I have just finished reading, his values and his principles stand above whatever results," he added.
Journalist Martinoli reported the incident took place when Herrera spotted him in the security line at the airport, and threatened him and struck him in the neck.
Martinoli had strongly criticised Herrera, well known for his emotional sideline outbursts, during the team's early exit from a previous tournament in Chile.
TV Azteca's parent company, Grupo Salinas, called on Mexico's football federation to launch an immediate investigation into the incident in a statement earlier this week. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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