Uruguayan footballers have long mastered the dark arts that are often employed to put opponents off their stride.
Think of Luis Suarez biting Giorgio Chiellini, the violence-plagued Intercontinental Cup matches of yesteryear or any of the array of tricks used by former Juventus defender Paolo Montero, who still holds the record for the most dismissals – 16 – in Italy’s Serie A.
But as Uruguay exited the Copa America Wednesday, Oscar Tabarez’s side had a taste of their own medicine.
Notably Edison Cavani, whose dismal Copa America hit rock bottom after he was sent off in Uruguay’s 1-0 defeat by hosts Chile in their quarterfinal.
The striker slapped Gonzalo Jara after the defender poked his finger into Cavani’s backside after 63 minutes, an incident that was missed by the match officials.
The slap triggered Cavani’s first red card in a Uruguay shirt, seven years after his international debut.
Jara made the most of Cavani’s petulant flick, theatrically falling to the ground, with Uruguay coach Tabarez later saying his dismissal had been crucial.
Having struggled to get past Uruguay’s stubborn defense, the hosts secured their place in the semifinals as Mauricio Isla broke the deadlock nine minutes from time.
Cavani had been a major doubt to start the Santiago clash because his father is currently detained by Uruguayan police after the truck he was driving –and which his son owns – hit and killed a 19-year-old motorcyclist Monday.
Having expressed concerns about Cavani before the quarterfinal, Tabarez felt Jara’s unexpected action absolved the striker, who failed to score at this year’s Copa America, from blame.
“Even if Cavani had won the lottery the day before, he would have reacted this way,” Tabarez told reporters.
Given the nature of the provocation, others felt Cavani should have taken stronger action.
“Jara a disgrace. Cavani should have lamped him properly,” wrote former Scotland international Craig Burley, coining a phrase which means to punch.
It’s unclear whether Burley is aware of the claims made by some of his compatriots following Scotland’s 1986 World Cup clash with Uruguay.
“It was awful. They would kick you, spit on you, pull your hair and put their fingers in places where fingers shouldn’t go,” striker Graeme Sharp told The Daily Telegraph last year.
“They were horrible, but their mentality was to win at all costs.”
Meanwhile, former Uruguay captain Diego Lugano took to social media to warn Jara that he could be something of a marked man in future.
“This boy ‘Jarita’ will have to ‘talk’ when we next meet in the world,” said Lugano’sTwitter post, which has been retweeted over 12,000 times.
More diplomatically Uruguay’s current captain, Diego Godin, has called on South America’s football confederation, CONMEBOL, to take action.
Repeat Offender
The incident is front page news in Uruguay but the match report by Chile’s state-owned La Nacion fails to mention Jara’s bizarre behaviour when discussing Cavani’s dismissal.
It turns out Jara, who plays for German Bundesliga side Mainz 05, has history of past provocations.
Quite aside from becoming overly acquainted with Cavani’s rear, he is also no stranger to Luis Suarez’s nether regions.
In 2013, the 29-year-old touched Suarez’s genitals as both players awaited a corner during a World Cup qualifier, prompting the then Liverpool striker to lash out.
Suarez is not at the Copa America because of his own role in one of sport’s more unsavory events when after biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, the Barcelona forward earned a nine-game international ban.
After Cavani’s dismissal, things went from bad to worse for Tabarez’s side.
Uruguay finished the game with nine men, with Jorge Fucile’s late red card sparking a lengthy confrontation between players and officials from both sides as well as the dismissal of coach Tabarez.
Meanwhile Jara and Copa America hosts Chile are looking forward to a semifinal match against either Bolivia and Peru.