Chile's Jara Banned For Copa America After Cavani Incident

Chilean defender Gonzalo Jara has been banned for the rest of the Copa America after attempting to shove his finger into the backside of Uruguay’s Edinson Cavani in their quarterfinals match.

South America’s football governing body handed down a three-game suspension to Jara, for faking an injury and provoking Cavani after an attempt to push his finger into the backside of the Uruguayan.

COMNEBOL said in a statement that the Chilean defender’s suspension was an ‘unsporting behaviour.’ Jara was also fined £4,775 for the incident. The ruling body of South America also said in its statement on their website that they regret the sanction, but will accept it.

Jara came behind Cavani and pushed his finger into the latter’s backside. The Uruguayan international and Paris Saint-Germain striker responded gently raising his hands toward the Chilean’s head with Jara capitalizing the moment to feign an injury and collapsing on the pitch. The match referee missed Jara’s antics and thrown Cavani out in the 62nd minute mark after getting his second yellow card in Copa America.

With the suspension, Jara will miss Chile’s pivotal semi-final clash with Peru on Monday, which will determine their fate in winning their first South American title. The suspension will carry over the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, which means Jara will miss his country’s opening match. Chile Coach Jorge Sampaoli was not happy about the suspension and criticised it saying it set a dangerous precedent.

“If you start acting on allegations outside of the referee’s reports, things are going to get very complicated. If people start getting suspended on the basis of allegations from one side, then everyone will start trying to do it,” said Sampaoli as per Sydney Morning Herald. The incident will force Sampaoli to change his effective lineup against Peru in Santiago.

FSV Mainz 05, Jara’s football club, announced they were prepared to let the Chilean leave this summer. The club’s sporting director Christian Heidel said they do not tolerate their player’s actions.

"We do not tolerate that. What makes me more angry than the prod, however, is what happens after. There is nothing I hate more than theatrics. He knows that if an offer comes in, he can go,” Heidel told Bild via ESPN FC.

In 2013, Jara provoked another Uruguay opponent. Luis Suarez punched him after appearing to grab his testicles during a World Cup qualifier match.

Chile advanced to the semi-finals with a 1-0 win over Uruguay. Mauricio Isla scored the lone goal of the game in the 82nd minute mark when he kicked from 15 yards out after Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera had weakly punched away a cross. The host team will wait for the winner of Thursday’s match between Bolivia and Peru.