Uruguay's football caught between a rock and a hard place

Uruguay's football caught between a rock and a hard place

Football Cow

Soccer passionate Uruguay is again with no matches this weekend in the local major leagues and could be for several weeks,

because of a conflict between professional players demanding to remove the authorities of their association and a call for fresh elections

A request supported by six hundred signatures, and until complied there will be no games.

However as usual things are not as simple as they seem when it comes to the beautiful game since, money and politics,

politics and money, are closely intertwined, which is particularly true in South America and Uruguay is no exception.

At stake in the current dispute is the players (and now also referees) image rights which currently rest in the questioned players union,

under control of Uruguay's football main promoter and overseas salesman of players, Francisco “Paco”, Casal

Casal, a mediocre ex player has shown to be an excellent business man, sometimes using bullying methods, and since the nineties managed to obtain

the television rights of Uruguayan football, a bottom rock long term contract, plus

promotion of the national team, the static publicity in the country's main stadium, and some merchandising rights.

He managed this through corrupt football team officials, particularly Victor Figueredo, the ex FIFA vice president who was caught in the FBI dragnet with

Blatter and his gang, and who at the time was head of the Uruguayan football association, AUF

Casal's move was also helped by the greedy Uruguayan, family owned television channels, which refused to pay for airing football matches,

or sharing publicity income, and some of the presidents of local clubs who kept the lion's share of the sale of Uruguayan players overseas

When Casal came on stage with the right contacts in Brazil, Spain, Italy, he sold players at higher prices, gave them their full transfer and kept a modest commission.

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