The Costa Rican Football Federation announced on Monday the dismissal of the Argentine coach of his country's national team, Fernando (Bucha) Batista, after a disastrous start in the CONCACAF Nations League competition.
Batista and his coaching staff were dismissed after only 6 months of assuming the position following losses to Curacao and Haiti in the first two rounds of the tournament, and he will be temporarily succeeded by former international Brian Royce.
Costa Rica reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup, after qualifying from a group that included Italy, England and Uruguay, but it has witnessed a decline in recent years.
The Central American country failed to advance past the group stage in the next two World Cups, and also failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Costa Rica lost at home to Curacao 3-4 last Thursday despite leading 3-0 at the end of the first half, and 3 days later, it lost to Haiti 0-2.
South Korea fell victim to another transportation error during the Asian Games in Japan, after the bus carrying its men's volleyball team headed to a stadium a full hour away from its intended destination.
The Games in Aichi-Nagoya have been hit by a series of regulatory problems; The most notable of these are related to accommodation and transportation for more than 17,000 athletes and officials. South Korean volleyball players were forced to cancel their training on Monday morning, ahead of their group match against Taiwan later the same day, following this latest logistical problem.
An official from the Korea Volleyball Association told Agence France-Presse on Tuesday: “A shuttle bus provided by the organizers transported our team yesterday morning to Okazaki instead of its training ground in Inuyama.” He added: “With too much time to return, the training was cancelled.” The official continued: “We filed an official complaint with the organizers through the South Korean Olympic Committee.”
The volleyball team continued its journey, defeating Taiwan 3-1. The South Korean men's basketball team was forced to miss training, before its final against Japan last week, after its bus did not arrive at all. This misstep did not affect their results; They continued their journey and won the title.
Also on Monday, the Pakistan men's volleyball team was mistakenly moved to the wrong court for its match against Uzbekistan, forcing the match to be postponed by 45 minutes. Pakistan captain Murad Jehan said from inside the bus in a video clip on Instagram: “This is another mismanagement by Japan in the ongoing Asian Games.”
For her part, a spokeswoman for the organizing committee, Ayumi Sakamoto, said that the Pakistani and South Korean teams left from the same place of residence, and that “an error occurred in matching the teams to the vehicles.” She added: “Each team got on a bus heading to the wrong destination. We sincerely apologize to both teams for this inconvenience.” She explained: “We caused great inconvenience, and the organizing committee takes this matter seriously.” She continued: “It is essential, but we will once again be careful to properly verify the teams boarding the buses and the destinations.”
The organizers of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Tuesday apologized for a mistake in transportation arrangements that led to the Pakistan volleyball team arriving at the wrong court before their match against Uzbekistan, necessitating its eventual postponement to save the situation.
Pakistan captain Murad Jehan posted a video on Instagram to share what he said was “another administrative error,” after the team arrived at the wrong stadium to play its first group match.
South Korea's men's national team also missed a training session after arriving at the wrong location, a Games spokesman said. He added to reporters today: “Both teams boarded buses heading to the wrong destinations. We would like to extend our sincere apologies to both teams for the inconvenience this has caused.”
He continued: “The Pakistan team was scheduled to go to Okazaki for its match, but its bus headed towards Inuyama, where the training ground is located. The course was later corrected, and upon their arrival in Okazaki, the match was held after the start date was delayed.”
He continued: “Although the delay in the start date was undoubtedly a source of great inconvenience to the team, by amending the competition schedule we were able to ensure the smooth conduct of the match.”
Pakistan shrugged off the turmoil to claim their second successive win, 3-0. Organizers previously apologized for the transportation and logistics problems the Games suffered.
