Mexico Manager Miguel Herrera Reportedly Fired After Punching Journalist

Mexico manager Miguel Herrera reportedly punched a journalist just hours after his team beat Jamaica 3-1 in the Gold Cup final. According to John Sutcliffe of ESPN Deportes, he has since been fired as manager.

According to AS Mexico (h/t Seth Vertelney of Goal), the victim of the apparent attack was Christian Martinoli of TV Azteca, and the incident occurred at Philadelphia airport on Monday, just a day after their triumph. Tom Marshall of ESPN shared reports on his Twitter feed:

Per the aforementioned piece, the journalist had apparently been very critical of El Tri’s displays on the way to the Gold Cup final, and tensions were raised when the two men bumped into each other at the airport.

Buda Mendes/Getty Images

Vertelney’s piece claims that Martinoli told AS Mexico that, “Herrera punched him in the neck, then challenged him to a fight outside.” Another source from AS Mexico quotes Herrera as shouting that the pair should head out of the terminal to “fix this like it should be fixed.”

TV Azteca sent a statement to the FMF, president Justino Compean and team chief Hector Gonzalez Inarritu, via ESPN:

"

The behavior of the manager of the national team is strange to us and worries us enormously," the statement said. "The federation shouldn't allow attacks like that suffered by our partner Christian Martinoli at the hands of Mr. Herrera.

Our country needs brave journalists, who are able to share their opinions and who enjoy the freedom of doing so without being attacked," the statement said. "Mexico needs more liberty, more public debate and less violence.

"

El Tri clinched the 2015 Gold Cup, their 10th CONCACAF title overall, with what was their best performance of an otherwise underwhelming tournament, thanks to goals from Andres Guardado, Jesus Corona, and Oribe Peralta.

DON EMMERT/Getty Images

If reports are true, it would cap off what has been a controversial campaign for Mexico, as they look for a new manager. As noted by Matt Morlidge of the MailOnline, El Tri have been accused of diving, have had dodgy decisions go their way and, according to Joe Prince-Wright of ProSoccerTalk, the team’s fans threw trash onto the field in their semi-final clash with Panama .