The Argentine goalkeeper of Pachuca's Tuzos, Oscar Ustari, said that in South America the relocation of a soccer franchise, as happened in Liga MX with Morelia, which moved from Michoacán to Mazatlán, Sinaloa, would generate a series of protests from fans that make it unfeasible for that to happen.
"It must not be easy for someone who belongs to the institution, and it must also be very difficult for the fan, you can think that my club disappeared because it has another name and another shirt. I am not the one who has to give an opinion about why they move from one side to the other, but I do know that in my country it is very difficult for that to happen, in Argentina or in South America sometimes big conflicts arise because they want to change the name of the stadium, not to mention moving to another city or being locals in a stadium that does not belong to the institution," said Ustari.
The Pachuca goalkeeper reflected on several topics in a long conversation with ESPN, in which he said he was grateful to the institution for the effort it has made to pay the players and staff of the club amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"It is a situation that no one escapes from, it was a blow to the global economy. The salary adjustment is a delicate issue, we must be careful. I have read about large companies that have laid off people who had been working for 30 years, we had to adjust and take care of something that is sacred to us: playing soccer," he said. "I am lucky to work for a large company, with many employees who are still being paid today, so we had to make the effort," he added, referring to the agreement reached by Pachuca players with their board.
Ustari said that there is no clear date to return to playing in the Liga MX, but he acknowledged that it will be strange to compete without having fans in the stands.
"It's not the same, you're used to playing with an audience. Then we will see the decisions or rules they will make regarding the protocols to have a match, but humans always adapt, at first it will be difficult but you won't leave a player alone in the area just because you're not close to them if you know they will score a goal," said the Argentine. "There are unavoidable issues because it is a contact sport, the rest of us will have to adapt and get used to it when everything returns to normal, I don't think it will be this year, but at some point it will have to be normalized," he concluded.