Nicaragua Expelled from 2023 Gold Cup for Fielding Ineligible Player

Nicaragua

This edition of the 2023 Gold Cup was going to be Nicaragua’s first participation. Unfortunately for the pinoleros, CONCACAF has just announced that they were expelled and will not have their place in the top continental tournament in this region.

According to what they wrote in the statement, This decision was made due to the fact that the Nicaraguan team carried out a series of repeated violations of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of FIFA Players. Specific, they fielded Richard Rodríguez Álvez in eight games, a player who was not eligible at that time.

The winger was born in Uruguay in 1992 and came to Central American football in 2015. He did not meet any of the conditions to represent a country: he was not born in the territory in question, he does not have biological parents from Nicaragua, and he did not live at least five continuous years on Pinolera lands.. There was no argument reason to summon him.

What is striking is that Rodríguez resigned from the national team at the beginning of this year when the Ghost Figueroa arrived. The new coach did not take this into account and since he did not bother to call him, the player ended up deciding not to represent the Central American country again.

Everything indicates that the replacement for Nicaragua in the 2023 Gold Cup would be Trinidad and Tobago. This is due to the fact that it is the best ranked team of the rest of the teams in League B of the Nations League. On the other hand, the place in the preliminary rounds of the Trinidadians will be occupied by Antigua and Barbuda.