Marcelo Bielsa suspended for decisive Copa América group game against USMNT

Uruguayan coach Marcelo Bielsa has been suspended by the South American Football Association for leaving the field late for the second half of the first two matches of this year’s Copa América. He will miss his team’s group stage final against the USA on Monday.

Conmebol said on Sunday that Bielsa had broken tournament rules and fined the national football association $15,000.

The rules of the Copa América say that players must be on the pitch at a certain time after half-time and that they will be warned after a first infringement. The sanction came after the second violation. Uruguay came away late in the second half after victories over Panama and Bolivia. Bielsa’s team returned to the pitch 90 seconds late against Bolivia.

The penalty for Bielsa is the same one that Conmebol gave to three other Argentine coaches – Lionel Scaloni (who coaches Argentina), Ricardo Gareca (Chile) and Fernando Batista (Venezuela) – for the same reason during the tournament, which is held in the US.

“I think they have to make a little adjustment to see if they can get the times right,” Peru coach Jorge Fossati said. “At the end of the first half is not the right time to set the stopwatch. That should be done when you get to the dressing room,” he added. “In several stadiums the dressing room is a kilometer away, they have to see that.”

In search of a record 16th Copa América title, Uruguay has battled its way through the first two games of the competition. They sit six points at the top of Group C thanks to convincing wins over Panama and Bolivia – and have a plus-seven goal difference. If they can avoid a heavy defeat against the US in Kansas City on Monday, they will progress to the knockout rounds. The US has three points and a plus-one goal difference, while Panama is on three points with a minus-one goal difference.

The final match of Group C will be a deciding match for the USMNT and coach Gregg Berhalter, whose job is on the line after a poor start to the tournament. The US must improve Panama’s result against Bolivia. Beating one of the tournament favorites is a tall order, but their task will be made easier by Bielsa’s absence.