Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz fans received more grim news on Monday, just weeks after they were confirmed relegation from Liga MX.
FIFA’s disciplinary committee announced that it was, through Liga MX, docking Veracruz six points. Considering the club only has four points in the current Clausura campaign, it means that Veracruz is down to zero points. The club were docked the points over a failure to pay training compensation fees to Montevideo Wanderers for Matias Santos. Santos only played one Copa MX match for Veracruz before moving back to Uruguay to join Defensor Sporting, but despite Santos’ brief time in Veracruz, it appears the club did not pay for his rights.
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Veracruz has been in trouble almost since club owner Fidel Kuri purchased the rights to another promoted team and moved it to Veracruz, effectively giving Veracruz a team. However, Kuri has been in trouble with Liga MX and the Mexican Football Federation before. He was suspended in 2016 for arguing with the league’s head of referees. He threatened to move the club away if he didn’t win a local election. And he’s reportedly been involved in a gentlemen’s agreement with other Liga MX owners to keep wages and transfer fees down.
Comunicado sobre la situación del Club Veracruz: https://t.co/HkDDbiwLOO pic.twitter.com/rzcQvSS1nD
— Liga BBVA MX (@LigaBBVAMX) April 15, 2019
Yet despite all the club’s struggles and relegations, Kuri has said that he will pay Liga MX’s “fine” of $6.34 million to keep Veracruz in the top division. It appears Veracruz’s story isn’t over yet. Stay tuned.
