They played a football match in Sofi Stadium on Saturday.
Not many people really gave it.
Mexico won and defeated the Dominican Republic 3-2 in the first game of the month long ConcaF Gold Cup. But even the biggest fans of the team found it difficult to celebrate, given what was just a dozen kilometer away, where hundreds of people protested for the police, troops of the National Guard and American Marines during the eighth day of protests about federal immigration -Instruments aimed at the Latino community.
“If the Mexican team plays, it is a party, right? But no, it wasn’t,” said El Coronel, the war name From the leader of ‘Pancho Villa’s Army’, the largest supporter group of the Mexican national team in the US – started a group by Sergio Tristan, a lawyer in Texas and Colonel of the National Guard who spent 30 months on the front lines in Iraq as an US Army infantry.
Fans cheer Mexico for the Concacaf Gold Cup football match against the Dominican Republic in Sofi Stadium on Saturday.
(Wally Skalij / Associated Press)
They could not celebrate because many in the Latino community in South California -citizens and immigrants, documented and not -were the target of ICE agents. So they stayed away from Saturday’s game, in the conviction that it would be an end for ice.
In response, the army of Pancho Villa limited their band to their barracks and canceled their traditional joyful pregame -Tailgate party Saturday. Cielto Lindo and Patrones de México, the other two major supporters of the national team in the US, did the same.
“We don’t feel good to celebrate with music and food [when] Our brothers and sisters and cousins and mothers all suffer from what is happening, “said El Coronel, who attended the game as a citizen, in a blue hoodie instead of a national team’s jersey.” While others suffer, it just doesn’t seem right. “
Last week, the Ministry of Interior Security on social media announced that federal agents would offer the FIFA Club World Cup security, which also started on Saturday in Zuid -Florida, which causes fans to be aimed at attending football matches on immigration legs. The security presence in the Sofi stadium was normal, however, visibly limited to uniformed police officers and the ubiquitous yellow-dressed employees of Contemporary Services Corp., a private company.
“Everything,” said El Coronel, a sigh of relief, “is calm.”
But anxious about what could On the left, most of the upper deck of Sofi empty and the lower bowl only half filled. The last three games of Mexico at Sofi attracted an average presence of more than 64,000; On Saturday, an often subject was announced on 54,309.
Carmen Garcia from El Monte came, but reluctantly. She bought a VIP ticket of $ 350 a month ago, but had second thoughts as soon as the ice attacks started.
“I tried to get a refund,” she said in Spanish. “They said no. So we are here, but we are not happy.”
One of those who did not enter was Daniel Fuentes van Los Angeles, who, instead, gathered with a group of anti-ice protesters across the stadium a few hours before the game.
“I am a football fan, but today we are not for football,” he said in Spanish. “It is not fair what Donald Trump does, to lift our working people who say they are criminals and it is not.
“They are raging against our Latinos and say we are the worst.”
Fans tailgate at the Sofi Stadium -parking space for a Concacaf Gold Cup match between Mexico and the Dominican Republic on Saturday.
(Wally Skalij / Associated Press)
The Mexican football federation generates about a third of the annual income in the US through income from the MatchDay, TV rights and sponsorship offers powered by the large Mexican and Mexican-American fans in the country. The American tour of the team before the World Cup 2022, for example, reportedly generated $ 31 million.
But while those fans have supported the team for a long time, given the chance to give the favor, the team decided to remain silent. The media received coach Javier Aguirre-de son of Spanish immigrant and his players would only answer questions about football.
Mexico, the reigning Gold Cup champion, slowly began to open his defense of his title in the biennial 16-team tournament. The Dominican Republic, ranked in 139th place in the world and played for the first time in the Confederation Championship, frustrated “El Tri” for the most half of the first half before a header by Edson Alvarez Mexico went for the pause.
Raúl Jiménez brought the crowd less than two minutes in the second half from the second half, chased a ball from Santiago Giménez in the penalty area and then ended with his right foot from the edge of the six-year box to doubl the lead.
Peter González halved the shortage for the Dominican Republic in the 51st minute before César Montes traded in Mexico and Edison Azcona of the Dominican scores of 14 minutes apart.
The goal of Montes came first, on a header who ricoched a few players before he hoped in the left -wing goal in the 53rd minute in the 53rd minute.
Azcona answered with a shot with the right foot of the left wing that bounced from a few Mexican defenders and about goalkeeper Luis Malagon.
The teams continue to Arlington, Texas, for their second group play games on Wednesday, with Mexico playing opposed Suriname and the Dominican Republic of Costa Rica. The US opened its Gold Cup schedule in San José against Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday.
Staff writer Eduard Cauich has contributed to this story.
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