Mexico coach Miguel Herrera lost his job on Tuesday after a punch-up with a TV analyst at Philadelphia airport – but the trouble isn’t over for him yet.
The 47-year-old Herrera, who apologised for what he called “the painful incident I had with a commentator” after Mexico’s Gold Cup victory over Jamaica, is under investigation in Mexico City for possible violations of electoral laws for politically oriented tweets. He sent the tweets on 7 June, the day of midterm elections.
The federal prosecutors’ office for electoral crimes said on Friday it was investigating whether Herrera broke laws that prohibit campaign activities on election day and several days before. The office said it wants to question Herrera, but has so far been unable to locate him at his home.
The notoriously exuberant Herrera was dismissed by the Mexican federation after the incident on Monday night in line at airport security. Christian Martinoli, of Azteca TV, said 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.
Federation chief Decio de Maria said the incident was not in keeping with “the spirit of fair and respectful competition” his organisation espouses. He said: “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.”
On election day, Herrera tweeted: “Don’t forget to vote, let’s go with the Greens” and “The Greens fulfill (promises)“ – apparent references to Mexico’s small Green Party.
Apoyemos a la selección. No dejen de votar, vamos con los verdes
— Miguel Herrera (@MiguelHerreraDT) June 7, 2015
Electoral laws say campaigning should stop just before an election, to give voters time to think.
In recent comments to Fox Sports, Herrera said he hadn’t been paid to send the tweets, saying he did it “out of conviction.” But he acknowledged it was an “act of stupidity on my part” to have sent them.
Martinoli had been in dispute with Herrera for some time over the national team’s sub-par displays, and, like many fans, had criticized the Mexico squad’s disappointing performance in the Gold Cup. El Tri beat Jamaica 3-1 on Sunday to lift their seventh Gold Cup, but they needed controversial penalty decisions against Costa Rica and Panama to advance to the final.
