Colombia coach apologises for hitting woman
Reuters - Monday 08 August 2011, 20:10
BOGOTA - Colombia coach Hernan Dario Gomez
apologised on Monday for punching a woman who insulted him by
criticising his work at the helm of the national team.
Witnesses told local media that Gomez struck the woman, who
appeared to be drunk, twice at the entrance to a bar on Saturday
night.
"I want to say publicly that I'm deeply sorry for this
occurrence and having lost control the way I did," the
55-year-old, nicknamed "Bolillo", said in a statement.
"I want to offer my public apologies for my behavior. Under
no circumstances is such an attitude acceptable and less so from
a person like me who in a 26-year career in professional
football had never faced a similar situation.
"This act shames me in front of my mother, my wife and each
and every one of the women in my family and my country," said
Gomez, who took charge of the Colombia team for the second time
in May after spells with Ecuador and Guatemala.
Gomez, the last coach to take Colombia to the World Cup
finals in 1998 in France, has been given the task of ensuring
his country's national team qualify for the 2014 tournament in
Brazil.
Colombia made a promising start to the Copa America in
Argentina last month but were upset 2-0 after extra-time by Peru
in the quarter-finals.