The Uruguay national team arrived in Miami late on Sunday after a travel ordeal ahead of its opening World Cup match against Saudi Arabia on Monday.
Uruguay pinned the blame on FIFA for their troubles flying from Mexico to Miami, yet they reportedly faced the threat of sanction if their head coach and captain could not make it to a mandatory press conference Sunday.
The original flight reportedly was not allowed to depart due to administrative issues, including some missing paperwork, and officials had to scramble to line up a new flight.
The Athletic reported that a member of the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) said FIFA was responsible for the traveling snafu. FIFA is in charge of all travel related to the 48-team World Cup.
Uruguay is training in Playa del Carmen, Mexico and held a practice on Sunday. When the traveling delegation reached the airport in Cancun, approximately 45 miles away, they learned the group was not authorized to enter the United States.
The AUF said that a second plane from South Florida was en route to pick up the squad, while players waited at a resort outside Cancun until its arrival.
“Due to problems beyond the control of the AUF, the departure from Mexico has been delayed,” the AUF said in a statement. “The squad is resting at the hotel. The new departure time set by FIFA is 4.15 pm.”
FIFA later released a statement to the Daily Mail and other outlets.
“Due to an airline permitting error in Mexico, the Uruguay national team’s departure from Cancun to Miami was delayed,” the statement said. “The airline has apologized 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 minimize disruption to the team’s travel arrangements.”
Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa and team captain Jose Maria Gimenez missed Sunday’s originally scheduled press conference in South Florida due to the issue. The team’s press conference was pushed back to 8 p.m. ET, and the coach and captain were in attendance.
“The trip went well, we made the most of it and saw it in a positive light,” Gimenez said in Spanish. “We took the chance to rest at the hotel (in Cancun).”
Bielsa was asked what sort of disruption the flight snafu caused his team.
“No, the flight doesn’t cause any complications,” Bielsa said in Spanish before changing the subject to his team’s preparation in both the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo and Playa del Carmen.
“In Montevideo, the players had constant obligations, but they also had family time, which I felt was necessary.”
Uruguay and Saudi Arabia will play their first match of Group H at Miami Gardens, Fla. The other members of the group, Spain and Cape Verde, will play Monday in Atlanta.
The match between Uruguay and Saudi Arabia is slated for 6 p.m. ET, giving them less than 24 hours to settle in before kickoff.
–Field Level Media
