MEXICO -- The Ascenso League once again captures attention in Mexican soccer. This time, it is due to issues outside the field and related to the administration of the Murciélagos team, where the players have been owed two months' worth of salary.
While the club's president, Miguel Favela, denied having any debt with his roster, sources close to the Caballeros de la Noche confirmed that this is indeed the case and that at least half of the payment has already been made.
When consulted by ESPN Digital about his debt with the players, the executive limited his response to stating that "what is being said about this matter is false." He also mentioned that "we will release a statement with the facts," without specifying the date of its publication.
Meanwhile, according to information obtained by this page from some players of the team from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, they have only been paid a portion (half) of what they are owed and the full two months are still outstanding.
It should be mentioned that the Sinaloan team remained stranded in León on their way to their next destination, Zacatecas, where they will face Mineros this Saturday, although later the squad was able to travel to their final destination without any issues.
#UnidosPorElAscenso
Mañana tendremos un gran encuentro @murcielagosfc 😊 pic.twitter.com/C09VjXm2yN-- Mineros de Zacatecas (@MinerosFc) 17 February 2018
Meanwhile, after finding out about everything happening within the team, the Ascenso League has taken the case and has entered into negotiations with the club to ensure that it fulfills its debt in the future.
On the other hand, the Mexican Footballers Association confirmed through a statement that the Murciélagos' management has already started covering the players' payments and that they will be fully settled next week.
La directiva durante 10 años se ha entregado para apoyar al futbol, con errores y aciertos a darle.
-- Miguel Favela (@miguelfav1) 17 February 2018
Quieren descender al Murcielago.. lo que no saben es que vuela mejor de noche!
-- Miguel Favela (@miguelfav1) 17 February 2018
PEACEFUL PROTESTS WILL CONTINUE
In another topic, the Mexican Footballers Association referred to what happened in the match between Potros UAEM and Cafetaleros de Tapachula, where the players stopped for about a minute to protest against the idea of eliminating promotion and relegation in Mexican soccer.
Furthermore, they informed that the same dynamic will be carried out by all the teams in the Ascenso League MX, where this measure is not well seen. Since last week, during Matchday 8, they have expressed their disagreement with this happening.
However, it was not reported that in the other two Friday matches: San Luis-Celaya and Correcaminos-Zacatepec, there were similar demonstrations to what happened at the Universitario Alberto 'Chivo' Córdoba stadium in Toluca. Nevertheless, at least the coaches of these squads were wearing a purple ribbon as a sign of protest.
📢 #Comunicado#FutbolistasUnidos#UnidosPorElAscenso pic.twitter.com/9Oq3b5Tpvc
-- AMFproMX (@AMFproMX) 17 February 2018