Video has emerged purporting to show the Uruguay football team being held as police engaged sniffer dogs to search their bags just before their opening World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Miami. It came after the squad had already endured a significant flight delay from their pre-match base in Mexico due to paperwork issues.
Footage circulating on social media appears to show the team, which included Manchester United's Manuel Ugarte and former Liverpool star Darwin Nunez, lined up on a pavement outside the team bus while security officials and sniffer dogs inspect their luggage. The precise location and time the footage was filmed are not clear but the players are recognisable and wearing the same clothing they were when they were later shown by broadcasters arriving at the stadium.
Uruguay drew their opening match 1-1 on Monday evening after a difficult build-up. The squad had been due to fly from Cancun, Mexico, to Fort Lauderdale on Sunday afternoon, but their Fifa-approved flight was stopped due to issues over missing required paperwork. Players were left stranded in Mexico for several hours and forced to return to their hotel rooms.
A Fifa statement read: "Due to an airline permitting error in Mexico, the Uruguay national team’s departure from Cancun to Miami was delayed. The airline has apologised for the inconvenience caused. FIFA remained in close contact with the Uruguay national team throughout their delay and worked alongside airport and operational partners to help expedite the process and minimise disruption to the team’s travel arrangements."
The issues follow complaints from Iran about their treatment at the tournament, with their coach saying his team are the “most oppressed” at the World Cup. The team’s build-up to the finals has been profoundly impacted by the conflict between Iran and the United States, with the squad forced to move their training camp to Mexico and told to leave the country immediately after their first match.
They opened their World Cup with a 2-2 draw against New Zealand, roared on by a passionate Iranian-American crowd. Coach Amir Ghalenoei welcomed the fans’ support, but said it had not been matched by those responsible for managing the team’s movements in what is believed to be a strong criticism of the US authorities.
“We’ve spent so much time commuting in the air,” he said. “They didn’t even give us time to recover after the game today. They said we had to leave immediately. It’s very important for us to have time for recovery and yet we were asked to return to Tijuana and we are really troubled by that. We do not know why they are returning us. I think it’s very strange. It seems like others are doing the planning for us, decisions are made elsewhere, we were supposed to arrive two nights before the game and we were not permitted, we were supposed to stay tonight and return tomorrow lunchtime but I have no idea why, and they haven’t told us. Our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup. The federation is absent here. Our media isn’t here. Our management team, many of them aren’t here. We used to have a part of a coaching team to help with substitutions but we didn’t have that. Many in the technical area had to deal with that.”
Before the tournament had started, Somalian referee Omar Artan was ruled out of the competition after being denied entry into the United States.
