Gomez quits Colombia over punching incident
Reuters - Tuesday 09 August 2011, 18:19
BOGOTA - Colombia coach Hernan Dario Gomez
has resigned after apologising publicly on Monday for punching a
woman in a bar, the Colombian Football Federation (FCF) said.
"This morning, after a deep personal reflection, seeking the
best benefit for the country, the Colombian national team, the
federation and the sponsors, and accepting the consequences of
his acts, Hernan Dario Gomez presented his resignation from his
position as coach," the FCF said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The Colombian Federation wants to reiterate and emphasize
that it is sorry for and rejects any violent act by officials,
players or coaches," it added.
The FCF called for an extraordinary meeting of all its
members as soon as the programme and logistics of the under-20
World Cup permit within the next 10 days.
Colombia is hosting the world youth tournament which is
entering the knockout phase.
"For the time being we won't have a coach in place for the
senior national team," the FCF statement said.
The incident that led to Gomez's resignation occurred on
Saturday night at the entrance to a Bogota night club where a
woman insulted the 55-year-old coach, criticising his work with
the national team.
Despite his public apology on Monday, there was growing
pressure for his resignation, an FCF source told Reuters.
Gomez was in his second spell as Colombia coach, having
taken the job in May, and last month steered the team to the
Copa America quarter-finals in Argentina, the first stage on the
road to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.
He was a popular choice having taken Colombia to their last
World Cup in 1998 and steering Ecuador to their first finals
four years later.