Mexico selects 11 boycotting players for exhibition against Venezuela

Mexico selects boycotting players for exhibition

MEXICO CITY — Mexican soccer’s governing body selected 11 players for an Oct. 12 exhibition Venezuela despite the a boycott by the group over discipline.

The 11 players were fined by the Mexican Football Federation for breaches of discipline during a party held after a September exhibition against Colombia.

The players, including New York Red Bulls midfielder Rafael Marquez, the national team captain, had sent a letter to the federation saying they were unhappy the incident had been made public and that the punishments were unfair. They asked not to be considered for the national team until the attitude of national team director Nestor De La Torre changed.

“I’m the captain and I had to defend my teammates,” Marquez said in a Spanish-language statement released on the Red Bulls’ Web site. “I will go with the national team.”

Absent from the list are Arsenal forward Carlos Vela and Glasgow Celtic defender Efrain Juarez, who were suspended for six months apiece in the harshest punishments. Others, including Marquez, Javier Hernandez, Giovani Dos Santos and Guillermo Ochoa, were fined $3,900 each.

Also fined were Francisco Rodriguez, Carlos Salcido, Andres Guardado, Gerardo Torrado, Pablo Barrera, Hector Esqueda and Hector Moreno.

Federation general secretary Decio De Maria said this week the federation would not accept conditions imposed by players but said it was holding talks with the players to solve the dispute.