The Argentine government insisted this Friday (10) that the South American Under-20 Football Championship, which is scheduled to start on January 23 in Venezuela, should be suspended or have its venue changed due to the “violent situation” who lives the country, declared the Chief of Staff, Guillermo Francos, in statements on a radio.
“It seems a little ridiculous to me that an international football championship is going to be played in a country that does not respect freedoms and that, in addition, (…) puts the freedom of our players at risk,” Francos said on Miter radio.
He added that “measures will have to be taken” so that the tournament, scheduled to end on February 16, is suspended or its venue is changed.
On Wednesday (8), the Argentine Security Minister, Patricia Bullrich, had told the press that Conmebol (South American Football Confederation) should consider changing the tournament’s headquarters due to the risk that the players would be taken as “hostages “.
“Can a South American Championship be held in Venezuela? It will be necessary to change venues, Conmebol will have to think about that. Is Argentina going to send young people who could be kidnapped?”, asked Bullrich during an interview with CNN Rádio.
Following these statements, a Conmebol source told AFP that it is “monitoring” the situation in Venezuela, in reference to the uncertainty generated by the debated presidential inauguration of Nicolás Maduro, which took place this Friday in Caracas amid multiple international protests.
Bullrich’s statement also comes in the context of tension with the Venezuelan government and Argentina’s demand for the detention of police officer Nahuel Gallo, arrested on December 8 and accused of “terrorism” by Maduro.
For Conmebol, it would not be new to change the venues for its meetings and tournaments.
This same event, which grants four places for the U20 World Cup —to be held this year in Chile—, was based in Peru, and the transfer to Venezuela occurred after the arrest of Agustín Lozano, president of the Peruvian Football Federation , as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering and fraud.
The Argentina under-20 team, led by Diego Placente, announced on Monday (6) its definitive squad list for the South American tournament and is preparing at the Argentine Football Association (AFA) training center in Buenos Aires. Aires.
