EZEQUIEL BECERRA/AFP via Getty Images
Nicaragua didn’t need any unnecessary distractions heading into a crucial World Cup qualifier with Costa Rica on Monday night. Unfortunately, the team found itself dealing with one right before the match got underway after police barged into the locker room in search of a player who’d been accused of skipping out on child support payments.
The Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football—the governing body more commonly referred to as CONCACAF—has managed to earn a less-than-stellar reputation among soccer fans due to some patently bizarre games featuring teams under its jurisdiction.
Matches between the 41 teams that currently fall under its purview have been marred by atrocious field conditions, equally abysmal officiating, worryingly subpar crowd control, and the sort of objectively strange moments college football fans associate with the likes of MACtion and the sadly defunct Pac-12 After Dark.
That list of incidents is constantly growing, and we were treated to a new entry in the log courtesy of what went down before a World Cup qualifier between Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
Police tried to arrest a soccer player on Nicaragua’s national team after making their way into the locker room before a World Cup qualifier
Canada, Mexico, and the United States automatically qualified for the 2026 World Cup by virtue of serving as the hosts for the tournament, but the rest of the teams that comprise CONCACAF have been vying for the three automatic bids up for grabs since the qualifying round got underway last year.
The list of contenders was ultimately winnowed down to the 12 nations that comprised the three separate quartets of teams that earned a spot in the final qualifying round, a stage where the squad that ends up with the most points in their group when everything is said and done punches its ticket to the World Cup.
Nicaragua was firmly in last place in Group C and sitting at 0-2-1 heading into its showdown with Costa Rica at the latter’s National Stadium on Monday night, and it desperately needed a win in the (already slim) hopes of possibly salvaging a berth in the FIFA Play-Off Tournament.
Their opponent, on the other hand, was looking to get its first win after recording three straight draws while on a quest to close the gap on the Honduras team sitting at the top of the group.
Costa Rica ultimately walked away with a 4-1 win, but according to CRHoy, we were treated to a vintage CONCACAF Moment shortly before the match got underway courtesy of the police officers who stormed into the Nicaraguan locker room armed with an arrest warrant for a player who’s been charged with not paying child support.
The outlet reports the unidentified player paid the money he owed on the spot and was allowed to participate in the game. However, his team was understandably less than thrilled with the manner in which the matter was handled, with director Javier Salinas saying:
“We’ve been in Costa Rica for more than 48 hours, so why do they have to report to the locker room? We will lodge this complaint with FIFA and CONCACAF. It’s shameful that this is happening.”
What a world.