Yeah, this was always going to happen. A couple days after a journalist alleged that Mexico manager Miguel Herrera ran up on him in an airport and punched him in the neck immediately following Mexico’s victory in the Gold Cup final, Herrera has officially been fired.
Decio de María, president of Mexico’s soccer federation, had this to say in a press conference announcing the decision:
“After listening to all my colleagues who are part of this federation, and reasoning I have made the decision to take Miguel Herrera out of the national team,” De Maria said. “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 as I said, our values have to be kept and no one can be above the type of situation we saw on Monday at the Philadelphia airport.”
Herra released a statement of his own:
In a statement, Herrera apologised to his players, his staff, fans, the federation and the media for his conduct in “the painful incident I had with a commentator.”
“It is clear to me that this is not the attitude that a coach for the Mexican national team should take, despite having received all manner of criticisms, offenses and mockery of my family and my person,” it said.
He said he planned to spend time with family and rest.
As crazy as this incident was, he’s still so beloved in Mexico that he can probably get another job in Liga MX before too long. Hopefully he will have learned that Super Saiyan powers should only be used for good.