Uzbekistan national football team head coach Fabio Cannavaro has commented on videos published in the media showing the team being searched before a friendly match against the Netherlands in the United States.
In a statement on his Instagram page, he said he had seen “misleading headlines” and decided to “clarify the situation.” According to Cannavaro, it was a standard security procedure.
“These were ordinary, standard checks. People don't understand one thing: when national teams participating in the World Cup travel, they do not go through airport terminals like ordinary passengers, but are taken directly to the platform on dedicated team buses,” he wrote.
The coach explained that team members undergo the checks that ordinary passengers go through in the terminal, but directly on the platform. “Same thing. This is standard procedure,” Cannavaro noted.
He emphasized that there was “no scandal” in what happened. “There was no disrespectful or inappropriate treatment,” the coach said.
According to him, similar procedures apply before games as well. Before the friendly match against the Netherlands, teams also underwent security checks.
“Before each game, teams are checked either directly before leaving the hotel, as was the case with the Netherlands, or directly at the stadium, as happened with us,” Cannavaro wrote.
The Uzbekistan national team head coach added that the organization of the trip and the match was “perfect.”
As Gazeta reported, before the game on June 8, security personnel checked members of the Uzbekistan team using hand-held metal detectors. They were also asked to place their bags and belongings on the ground next to the bus. Nearby were security officers and a dog handler with a dog.
The Uzbekistan Football Association told Gazeta that the check was related to security issues and that other teams also underwent it, but the delegation admitted they did not expect such strict procedures. Other teams, notably Senegal and Belgium, also faced similar checks, but they were conducted at the airport.
Uzbekistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Omonulla Fayziyev, in a comment to Gazeta, said that explanations had been requested from US officials regarding this check and stressed that such procedures should not undermine the spirit of sporting events.
Source: www.gazeta.uz