Mexican referees have had enough.
According to a report in Record, officials are threatening to take drastic action if strong punishment isn't handed down to a pair of players who were sent off for making contact with referees during Wednesday's Copa MX Round of 16 games.
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Should their terms not be met, the referees plan to strike with the intention of causing the league to miss matches, according to the report.
Club America center back Pablo Aguilar was sent off for what appeared to be an attempted head butt that the referee deflected by creating space with his shoulder as he was calling time on America's 1-0 loss to Tijuana. Toluca forward Enrique Triverio saw red after giving the referee a shove on his shoulder as Toluca crashed out of the cup with a loss to Morelia on penalties.
"The referee's union condemns the acts of Pablo Aguilar and Enrique Triverio. Enough of the aggressions," read a tweet from the referee's association.
El Gremio Arbitral reprueba los actos de Pablo Aguilar y Enrique Triverio, basta de agresiones. #CopaMX #CopaCoronaMX #UnidosPorUnBienComún pic.twitter.com/WoVAlQCQbM
— AMA Árbitros (@AMArbitros) March 9, 2017
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The league's disciplinary committee met Thursday afternoon, and it was revealed that Aguilar's bump was noted as "violent conduct" in Fernando Hernandez's match report. Both cases, however, still remain open with a number of suspensions available to the committee, according to the league's bylaws.
La Asociación Mexicana de Árbitros expresa todo su apoyo a los #Silbantes Miguel Flores y Fernando Hernández. #COPACoronaMX #CopaMX #AMA pic.twitter.com/jnRUXxd6ds
— AMA Árbitros (@AMArbitros) March 9, 2017
The disciplinary body has been busy in the past two weeks. It handed down a one-match stadium ban for Veracruz and gave Tigres manager Ricardo "Tuca" Ferretti a two-game suspension after a fight broke out between Veracruz and Tigres supporters at the Estadio Luis "Pirata" Fuente. Earlier this week, the league announced that Toluca midfielder Rubens Sambueza and Leon midfielder Andres Andrade are suspended indefinitely for tackles that caused injuries in weekend play.
