Mexican National Team Coach Allegedly Punched A Journalist In The Neck

Mexican national team coach Miguel Herrera is a crazy person in good times and in bad. You’d think that good times would bring out good-crazy, and that Mexico’s referee- delivered Gold Cup win would elicit those happy emotions. But according to Mexican journalist Christian Martinoli, Herrera was not feeling too friendly after his team’s victory.

Martinoli, who works for TV Azteca, is famously tough on the Mexican team and especially Herrera, so there has been bad blood between the two for a while. Early this morning, fellow TV Azteca reporter David Medrano reported that Herrera had hit Martinoli at the airport. Later, Martinoli gave an interview to AS Mexico, detailing his version of events.

While making his way through security, Martinoli spotted people with the Mexican team up ahead. In an attempt to fend off some sort of confrontation, he asked a friend he traveled with, Luis García, to get in front of him to obscure the Mexican team’s view of him. As he was looking down at his phone, he felt a punch to his neck that allegedly came from Herrera.

Here’s how Martinoli described the rest of the scene:

Luis tried to calm him, while [Herrera’s] daughter pushed me and told me off. In the security line he threatened me, challenged me to death several times and said: ‘This is how it will be every time I see you.”

Another source told AS that Herrera said to Martinoli, “Let’s go out to the street and settle this the way we should.” Dammit, man, you were so much cool when you were just punching the air in celebration.

[ Goal | AS Mexico]