2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup

[GoGo Yubari]

That'll make the second game in a row that Mexico has been saved by a suspension of disbelief-defying penalty call. Golly.

[gunnar hendershow]

Oh hey now this penalty at least feels like the right call.

[HailtotheYo]

I still feel like throwing up.  Good Lord that was atrocious.  Jamaica absolutely played well enough to win and the only positive I draw from that game is that we were flat as all hell and it still was a call you don't ever see leading to a goal that wins it for them. 

I'm flat out disgusted with the Panama/Mex match though.  Holy shit.  I don't have the words ... just disgusting.

I hope Jamaica runs them out of Lincoln Financial on Sunday. 

[HailtotheYo]

Third-place game in a nutshell: Instead of training, Panama is playing kickball. #GoldCup pic.twitter.com/fEHsJB8std

— Kyle McCarthy (@kylejmccarthy)

July 24, 2015

[Lineker]

Miguel Herrera, the combustible Mexico coach famed for his exuberant touchline displays and sharp disagreements with referees, has been fired for punching a TV reporter – just two days after leading his team to victory in the Gold Cup.

The incoming Mexican federation president, Decio de Maria, confirmed at a press conference on Tuesday that Herrera’s contract had been terminated. Christian Martinoli of TV Azteca accused Herrera, 47, of punching him as the pair waited in the TSA line at Philadelphia airport on Monday, a day after Mexico’s 3-1 victory over Jamaica.

De Maria said: “After listening to all my colleagues, I have made the decision to take Miguel Herrera out of the national team. It is not a simple decision, but it is the correct one.

“Matches never finish, and as public figures we have to keep that in mind. Everyone has had an opinion, but our values have to be kept, and no one can be above the type of situation we saw on Monday at the Philadelphia airport.”

Martinoli, who had been critical of Herrera during Mexico’s Gold Cup run, told AS Mexico that he ran into the national team when he got past security at the airport. There, he said, Herrera punched him in the neck, then challenged him to a fight outside

Another source confirmed the events to AS Mexico, saying Herrera told Martinoli they should leave the terminal and head to the street to “fix this like it should be fixed.”

Martinoli said: “Everyone will have his version of events, and he probably will deny it. I have no doubt.”

There was no comment from Herrera on his departure. Nor has he said anything publicly on the incident in Philadelphia.

After the incident, Azteca urged “a prompt and urgent investigation” by the Mexican federation. “We are surprised and concerned by the behavior of the national team coach,” the statement said. “The Mexican soccer federation should not allow attacks like the one suffered by our colleague.”

Despite winning the trophy, Herrera was widely criticised by spectators and pundits for his team’s lacklustre performances in the Gold Cup, the regional tournament for Concacaf nations. After a poor showing in the group stage, where they won just one of their three games, Mexico needed controversial late penalties against Costa Rica and Panama to advance to the final.

After two dubious penalty calls allowed Andrés Guardado to score twice from the spot and help Mexico win their semi-final 2-1, the Panamanian FA described the officiating as “insulting and embarrassing”, and accused the referee of favouring Mexico in a “vulgar and shameless way”.

Herrera himself was sheepish after the victory over Panama: “It’s not ideal. The first wasn’t a penalty, and the fact is we didn’t deserve to win the match because we didn’t play at all well.”

But Mexico showed some vim in the final against Jamaica, scoring three good goals and emerging 3-1 winners to lift their seventh Gold Cup.

De Maria said the federation would not be in any rush to appoint a new coach. It’s become a revolving-door job: Mexico have burned through 10 head coaches in the nine years since Ricardo La Volpe departed after the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

“Regarding a coaching replacement, we have to go out and look for coaches,” he said. “Whatever decision we take will be criticized and analyzed, but we will make a decision that allows all of us to go to Russia in 2018.”

Herrera, affectionately known by his nickname, Piojo, or “the Louse”, became famous for his effusive celebrations on the touchline during the World Cup in Brazil. He guided Mexico out of a tricky group containing the hosts, Cameroon and Croatia, but his team had a brain freeze in stoppage time against Holland, losing 2-1 and continuing a Mexican tradition of exiting in the round of 16.

He became Mexico’s fourth coach in a month when he took over in October 2013, with El Tri in the midst of a qualification funk. He oversaw a 9-3 aggregate victory over New Zealand to qualify for the World Cup, and did enough in Brazil to win a contract extension into 2015.

But a poor performance in this year’s Copa América, where Mexico finished bottom of their group, followed more off-field controversy, when Herrera tweeted his support for Mexico’s Green party on 7 June, the day of mid-term elections.

The tweets – which went against the Mexican federation’s own code of ethics – caused a backlash in Mexico and a visibly angry Herrera was forced to defend his actions at a testy press conference.