“The plane incident”… The Uruguayan Federation responds to the rumor that its players were punished | sports

The Uruguay national team’s exit from the first round of the 2026 World Cup sparked a wave of controversy, after several media outlets reported that the Uruguayan Football Association canceled the mission’s special return flight and forced the players to travel via commercial flights as a form of punishment following the disappointing exclusion.

The Uruguayan Federation was quick to deny this news in an official statement, stressing that the option of returning by private plane was not on the table from the beginning, because the place where the team’s journey in the tournament would end was not known in advance.

The Federation explained that a large number of members of the delegation, led by professional players in Europe, went directly to their countries of residence to join their clubs, which made organizing a unified trip impractical.

He added that the mission members traveled on commercial flights as “the fastest and most efficient option” to reach their various destinations, categorically denying the existence of any punitive measures against the players.

This controversy came after one of the biggest surprises of the tournament, after the Uruguay national team exited the competition from the group stage after two draws against Saudi Arabia (1-1) and Cape Verde (2-2) and a loss against Spain, in a result that caused great shock within the country.

Coach Marcelo Bielsa did not hide his disappointment after the exclusion, as he stated in the press conference, saying: “I will not leave anything to Uruguayan football,” in a statement that increased speculation about his future, after he hinted before the start of the tournament that he did not want to renew his contract with the national team.