You might remember that back in January, El Salvador failed to complete their UNCAF Cup semifinal match against Costa Rica because they had too few players on the field. Two of their players had been sent off, all of the substitutions had been used up, and three players -- Juan José Gómez, Deris Umanzor, and Rodolfo Zelaya -- suffered injuries in quick succession that forced them to leave the field.
Costa Rica accused the players of faking their injuries and their team doctor of being complicit in the fraud, and UNCAF stepped in to investigate. Today UNCAF suspended Gómez, Umanzor, and Zelaya for the first two matches of the Gold Cup, suspended the team doctor José María Rivas for a year, and fined El Salvador's football federation US$20,000. The UNCAF ruling stated that, in their opinion, the statements of the three players and the team doctor about the nature of the injuries and the manner in which they occurred were inconsistent with the video evidence, the results of the medical exams did not confirm with the stated injuries, and the players, despite their injuries, participated in national team matches immediately afterward.
These suspensions are a big blow to El Salvador's chances at the Gold Cup, as Zelaya and Gómez have played vital roles for the national team (Zelaya played very well against the USA in March). But this ruling may not be the end of their troubles; it's possible that CONCACAF and FIFA could impose additional sanctions not only against the players and doctor, but also the national team coach and the head of the Normalization Committee.
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