Arturo Vidal has had his driving licence temporarily revoked by a Chilean judge for drink driving. Juventus’s 28-year-old Chile international, who is in the country for the Copa América, was arrested after crashing his Ferrari in the outskirts of Santiago while under the influence of alcohol late on Tuesday night. However, the Chile coach, Jorge Sampaoli, has stated he is unlikely to be removed from the squad for the tournament, in which his team top their group with one match remaining.
He will also have to present himself each month to the Chilean embassy in Milan for a period of 120 days while further investigations take place.
“Arturo’s accident worried us all,” said Sampaoli. “The first thing that crossed our minds were his health and his family. We will see how he is. He is a very valuable player who has made a mistake, but not the kind of mistake to exclude him. He was in his free time after all. I don’t believe this is as serious as some have tried to portray it.
“At this point it’d be easier to exclude him than to include him. And if we notice anything that affects the national team, we will make a decision on that. An internal correction. But it’s not in my nature to single out and exclude someone for making a mistake.
“I never test my players for alcohol when they arrive at training. I trust my team. I know they’ll give their everything to win. And I don’t see their decision to drink as a question of my authority.
“If he hadn’t crashed, he would have arrived at the right time to training but maybe not been able to control what state he was in. The group will understand this decision is not because he’s Vidal but because it’s a situation that we need to manage.”
Vidal suffered minor injuries in the crash, after which he is believed to have said to the arresting officer: ““You can handcuff me but you’ll only be fucking up the whole of Chile.” He appeared in court following the incident on Tuesday. A group of fans, who had gathered outside the court to show their support for one of the key player for La Roja and the leading scorer of the competition with three goals, tried to force their way into the courtroom as the media were to be allowed in, delaying procedures and resulting in the media being banned from the courtroom.
Sampaoli requested an extraordinary meeting with the president of the ANFP, the Chilean FA, on Wednesday morning to discuss the forward’s future. It had been reported that Sampaoli was concerned about any punishments the ANFP might hand the Juventus player and has pleaded, successfully, on behalf of the striker.
Sampaoli and his coaching team deem Vidal a pivotal piece to their team’s Copa América campaign. They beat Ecuador 2-0 in the opening match, with Vidal scoring the first, and drew 3-3 with Mexico, with Vidal scoring twice.
Vidal’s legal scramblings have, however, thrown Chile’s preparations for their key game against Bolivia on Friday into disarray.
Vidal, who has been linked with summer moves to Arsenal and Manchester United, is no stranger to controversy while on national duty. Back in 2011 he was one of five players handed a 10-game ban after breaking a curfew.
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