Liga MX side Toluca's Enrique Triverio and America's Pablo Aguilar received one-year bans from the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) for "aggressive incidents during Copa MX matches" on March 8, according to ESPN.com. The decision was handed down Monday after the Liga MX referees' association (AMA) went on strike to force the cancelation of Liga MX and Copa MX week 10 matches. The AMA issued a statement saying that it was "satisfied with the players' punishments and would return to work immediately." The strike came about because the AMA was "appalled at the initial consequences for Triverio and Aguilar, which the refs viewed as too light." Triverio "was first handed an eight-match ban," while Aguilar received a 10-game punishment (ESPN.com, 3/13). LA AFICIÓN reported Aguilar and Triverio "will have the opportunity to bring their cases" to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, according to int'l sports rights lawyer Ricardo de Buen. The players have 21 days to appeal (LA AFICIÓN, 3/13). In Mexico City, Brenda Alvarado reported Tijuana coach Miguel Herrera "criticized the attitude of referees and the Disciplinary Committee's decisions." Herrera, the former coach of the Mexican national team, said, "The attitude of the referees is very bad, but the first mistake comes from the Disciplinary Committee. ... I have heard that the refs came together, but they did not. Because if they had come together, all of football would have stopped, not just the first division. I am not against the union of the refs, but it was not a good decision" (LA AFICIÓN, 3/13).
