MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Just-retired striker Luis Suárez has criticized Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa for the way he treated players during the Copa America, saying the “friction” hurts.
Uruguay finished third at the Copa in July in the United States but Suárez said all was not well behind the scenes.
“There were situations at the Copa America that hurt me, but I didn't say them for the sake of coexistence,” Suarez told the DSports TV channel. “Many players held a meeting to ask the coach to at least say good morning to us, but he didn't even say hello.”
The relationship between Bielsa and the players was so bad that some are considering leaving the national squad, Suárez said. He retired his 17-year international career a month ago as Uruguay's all-time leading scorer.
“You can see that players go with the team and are not enjoying themselves," he said. "In their (club) teams they are having fun and smiling, but not with the national team. It hurts to see what is going on.”
Bielsa, who has coached Argentina and Chile, was hired by Uruguay in May 2023 to the end of the 2026 World Cup.
He has Uruguay third in South American qualifying for the World Cup, and is preparing for qualifiers against Peru next Friday and Ecuador four days later.
Suárez asked Uruguay supporters “not to take it out on the players if something goes wrong.”
“We are arriving to a tough situation and very painful situations. The friction is going to keep happening and the players are going to reach their limit before exploding."
Despite the team's success, Suárez said the atmosphere cultivated by Bielsa was not good, even at their training facility.
“At the Celeste Complex, employees are not allowed to come in and greet us and eat with us,” he said. “They have to be careful even at the door they have to enter. It breaks my heart that this is how life is in the Complex today."
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Inter Miami forward Luis Suarez (9) looks for an opening during the second half of an MLS soccer match against Charlotte FC, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Paul Pogba has had his four-year ban for doping reduced to 18 months after appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The ruling means the France World Cup winner will be free to resume his career in March 2025.
CAS confirmed earlier reports that the ban was reduced when approached by The Associated Press on Friday. CAS did not elaborate on the decision.
“Finally the nightmare is over,” Pogba said in a statement. “Following the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, I can look forward to the day when I can follow my dreams again.”
The Juventus midfielder tested positive for testosterone in August last year and was handed the maximum punishment by Italy’s anti-doping court.
At the time, Pogba said “the verdict is incorrect” and appealed to the Switzerland-based CAS.
Four-year bans are standard under the world anti-doping code but can be reduced in cases where an athlete can prove their doping was not intentional, if the positive test was a result of contamination or if they provide “substantial assistance” to help investigators.
“I always stated that I never knowingly breached World Anti-Doping Agency regulations when I took a nutritional supplement prescribed to me by a doctor, which does not affect or enhance the performance of male athletes," Pogba said. “I play with integrity, and although I must accept that this is a strict liability offence, I want to place on record my thanks to the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s judges who heard my explanation.
“This has been a hugely distressing period in my life because everything I have worked so hard for has been put on hold.”
The 31-year-old Pogba was the most expensive soccer player in history when he joined Manchester United from Juventus for a fee of 105 million euros ($113 million) in 2016.
He starred in France's World Cup triumph in 2018 and returned to Juventus as a free agent in 2022. But injuries limited him to just eight Serie A appearances in his second spell at the club before his ban.
Pogba was suspended after the positive test was announced in September last year.
“I just cannot wait to get back on the pitch,” he said.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
French professional soccer player Paul Pogba stands in a VIP suite at the start of an MLS soccer match between Inter Miami and Charlotte FC, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
