Mexico Won’t Punish Its Adult Players For Having Fun On Their Free Time

The Mexico national team defeated Scotland 1-0 in a relatively poor performance on Saturday night. It was the team’s final friendly before heading to Europe for the 2018 World Cup. On Monday the Mexico team announced its final 23-man roster and on Tuesday the team flew to Denmark. But all the Mexican tabloids want to talk about is the El Tri party that took place on Saturday night.

Mexico’s victory over Scotland was not the best way to send off the team from Mexico, with the team struggling to convert chances. Nonetheless, many of the team’s members went out to party later that night, knowing it was essentially their last free night in Mexico ahead of the World Cup.

Not surprisingly given the popularity of these players, the paparazzi snapped some pics of the players partying, with TV Notas reporting that Memo Ochoa, Carlos Salcedo, Hector Herrera, Jesus Gallardo, Jonathan and Giovani Dos Santos, Raúl Jiménez and Marco Fabián were involved. 

Ya es #MartesDeTVNotas! Y nuestra #Edición1117 está lista, ¡No te la puedes perder, sólo la verdad! https://t.co/9pmE8BFXv8 pic.twitter.com/si72zKFdZp

— Revista TVNotas (@TVNotasmx) June 5, 2018

What was surprising was response of the Mexican Football Federation. Guillermo Cantu, the general secretary of the FMF, told reporters the Mexican players would not receive any punishment for the late-night El Tri party. 

"The day was a free day," Cantu said. "That's the risk you take with (giving) freedom. In truth, it's not whether we like (what the players may have done) or not, simply that we have to be clear that they haven't missed any training or a meet-up.”

What a refreshing take on what adults do with their lives!

Some adults on the Mexico national team — all of whom are above the legal drinking age of 18 in Mexico — went out to have some fun before embarking on a month-long journey to Russia for the biggest tournament of their lives. What they do in their free time should be of no business to their employers if it doesn't effect performance. 

Cantu did hint that he may disagree with how exactly the players partied, as it has been reported in the tabloids that the players went out with upwards of 30 escorts. But as long as no laws were broken, should we judge the players on how they spend their free time?

"The subject of values is separate,” Cantu said. “I'm not going to condemn the players. It's a personal and free decision of how they can use their (free) time, which was agreed upon a week before the journey (to Denmark). The topic of freedom is complex."

Los uber con las Escorts llegando a la fiesta de la Selección @dreyes_9 pic.twitter.com/UF8FI8FjM9

— David Pulido (@david_pulido1) June 5, 2018

Normally when the World Cup rolls around, football associations go bonkers trying to prevent their players from having any kind of fun. In 2014, El Tri players were asked to abstain from sex, despite the fact there is little scientific evidence that sex hampers athletic performance. Most research suggests that unless the sex is two hours before an event, it’s safe and often beneficial.

Of course, sex isn’t the only problem when partying in Mexico. Binge drinking pretty much always negatively effects the body, but it’s unclear how much the players had to drink. Given that Mexico’s first match of the World Cup isn’t until June 17, the players will have plenty of time to recover, regardless of how much tequila was consumed. 

Needless to say, it’s rare for a soccer federation to turn a blind eye to players partying, especially Mexico. In 2010, Efrain Juarez and Carlos Vela were suspended for organizing a party with 11 other players. The following year eight players were banned from the Copa America for bringing women back to the team hotel. 

But Saturday’s El Tri party was just a case of some players blowing off steam before a hugely important tournament, well in advance of a meaningful match. As long as no laws were broken, we see now reason to punish players this far in advance of a match. We applaud the FMF for having some restraint, even if some of the Mexico players did not. 

(The cynic would suggest Mexico didn't punish its players because the team needs everyone available to play against Germany, but we're going to take the feel-good approach because we, too, like to party sometimes, though we are a little bitter we weren't invited to this El Tri party.)