Mexican Football Federation (FMF) President Decio de Maria admitted that Liga MX clubs "may have violated FIFA's transfer rules as they stand, but is seeking clarity from the governing body due to the complex situation surrounding dual Mexico-U.S. nationals," according to Tom Marshall of ESPN. De Maria said, "FIFA knows about our reality and we are in a process of [reaching an] understanding. I repeat, the rule is made generally and here we are talking about something specific that isn't comparable with clubs over there [in Europe]." De Maria was responding to questions "brought to the fore by an ESPN investigation, which highlighted there may have been widespread breaches by Liga MX clubs of Article 19 of FIFA's Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, which is designed to stop minors from leaving their native countries for clubs in other countries before they turn 18." Minors born in the U.S. -- with Mexican citizenship, or access to it from parents or grandparents -- "are scouted north of the border and head south to join Liga MX clubs' academies." De Maria accepted that, in theory, the practice "appears a violation," but considers the flow of Mexican-American youth south and the "sheer quantity" of Mexican citizens in the U.S. a special case. He is "hoping FIFA interprets it the same way." Liga MX side Pachuca Sporting Dir Marco Garces pointed out that the issue of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. "complicates the panorama further." Garces: "They are regulations imported from Europe that still aren't clear in this part [of the world]. [They are] too strict and the people judging don't know the context and impact these decisions have" (ESPN, 4/11).
