Ecuador complains after Mexico fans target team hotel before World Cup match
Fans used horns, speakers and motorcycles outside Ecuador’s hotel in Mexico City before its round-of-32 match against Mexico, AP reported.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Mexico supporters gathered outside Ecuador’s team hotel overnight before the countries’ World Cup round-of-32 match, prompting a formal complaint from Ecuador’s football federation. The Associated Press reported that the incident added another complication to Ecuador’s already delayed arrival in Mexico City.
According to AP, dozens of fans assembled outside the Westin Hotel in Santa Fe, an upscale district on the edge of the Mexican capital, from around midnight into the early morning. The group used loudspeakers, horns and motorcycles in an apparent attempt to disrupt the visiting squad’s sleep before Tuesday’s knockout match.
The Ecuadorian Football Federation, known as the FEF, said Tuesday it had submitted a complaint to tournament organisers over the disturbance. In a statement, the federation said the conduct ran counter to “the principles of fair play, equity, and unity that a World Cup should embody.”
The FEF also urged authorities to take greater care in responding to such incidents and to protect players, staff and fans. AP reported that the hotel gathering had been organised on social media.
A tense pre-match tradition
AP described late-night gatherings outside team hotels as a long-running and divisive feature of Latin American football culture. What began as a show of backing for home sides has also been used as a tactic aimed at unsettling visiting players before major matches, according to AP.
Ecuador’s schedule had already been affected before the disturbance at the hotel. AP reported that the team had chosen to arrive late Monday in Mexico City as part of a plan to limit the impact of playing at altitude.
Mexico City sits at about 2,200 metres, or 7,300 feet, above sea level. AP reported that sport scientists generally point to two approaches for teams playing in thin air: arrive early enough to acclimatise for at least two weeks, or arrive close to kickoff before acute symptoms can take hold.
Teams from major United States sports leagues use the second approach when they play in Mexico City, according to AP.
Delays before kickoff
Ecuador coach Sebastián Beccacece said the team’s trip from Columbus, Ohio, took longer than planned. “A flight delay, then the transfer to the hotel – it ended up being a nine-hour journey; we took three hours longer than scheduled,” Beccacece said, according to AP.
Beccacece did not specify whether that calculation accounted for the two-hour time difference between Columbus and Mexico City, AP reported. He added that the squad was in good condition and looking forward to facing a Mexico team that had performed well in the group stage.
AP reported that Ecuador landed at Felipe Ángeles International Airport, about 65 kilometres, or 40 miles, from the team hotel. The transfer to Santa Fe was slowed by Mexico City traffic and heavy rain on Monday, according to AP.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.