Santiago, June 18 (IANS) Argentina’s coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino will miss his team’s next Copa America match on Saturday against Jamaica.
The coach was sent back to the stand during his team’s match against Uruguay on Tuesday which they went on to win 1-0.
During the match, the Argentinian got into the referee’s bad books early on after he stepped onto the pitch complaining about one of the referee’s decisions within the first 30 minutes of the first half, reports Xinhua news agency.
A few minutes later, Martino disagreed again with the referee’s decision and stepped on to the pitch again. The referee, Sandro Meira Ricci, banished the coach to the stands for his behaviour and later decided to hand out a one-match ban to Martino.
Martino will serve his ban during the upcoming Jamaica match which he will watch from the stand instead of from the dugout according to Copa America’s official website.
Martino has not complained about the punishment as he said in a news conference after the match that he understands he broke the rules and his short temper provoked him to make a mistake by stepping onto the pitch.
The ban is only valid for one match so Martino will be able to return to the sidelines after the Jamaica match.