After the tragedy that occurred in the Querétaro vs Atlas match, there are many voices calling for exemplary punishment for Mexico, such as being out of the World Cup. The interesting thing is that this would not be the first time this has happened.
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How did the barras get into Mexican soccer, which triggered the Liga MX brawl?
In the past, the Mexican national soccer team has been expelled from the FIFA World Cup for bad behavior, so the demand of many Mexicans, embarrassed by what happened, could become a reality.
What happened in the Liga MX in the Querétaro vs Atlas match, where a fight between the two teams' supporters left more than 20 people injured, 2 of them seriously, is a matter that has hurt Mexico.
Is Mexico out of the World Cup? It would not be the first time that the country has been punished in this way
Mexico was left out of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy because of an embarrassing event that occurred at the Pre World Cup in Guatemala in 1988.
In that tournament, the Mexican National Soccer Team falsified the birth certificates of several players who would participate in that tournament, in order to integrate players who were over the age limit allowed by the competition.
When FIFA learned the truth behind this deception, Mexico was not only expelled from the 1990 World Cup in Italy but was also eliminated from the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.
This shameful episode in Mexican soccer is known as the "Cachirules" case, in allusion to a Mexican TV actor who played a character much younger than his real age.
Have other soccer teams been expelled from the FIFA World Cup as punishment?
The most recent case is that of the Russian soccer team since after Russia invaded Ukraine, FIFA decided to expel all the clubs and national teams of that country from its competitions.
Something similar happened to Yugoslavia when it was excluded from the 1992 European Championship or the 1994 World Cup in the United States, due to the war in which it took part.
One of the most peculiar cases in terms of expulsions from World Cups by FIFA was that of Equatorial Guinea, which has been expelled from the 2026 World Cup due to a debt of more than two million euros, but if they pay their debt, they will be able to participate in the competition.
So, the demand of many Mexican soccer fans embarrassed by the tragedy at the Estadio Corregidora is not out of touch with reality, since in the past, Mexico has lost the opportunity to attend a World Cup due to bad behavior.
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What did FIFA and CONCACAF say about the tragedy between Querétaro and Atlas?
