Bizarre reason why Darwin Nunez has to play without a coach for Uruguay against USA

Marcelo Bielsa will not be on the sidelines for Darwin Nunez and Uruguay’s must-win Copa America group stage match against the United States.

Nunez scored in both of his country’s first two games of the tournament against Bolivia and Panama. Bielsa will now be hoping from afar that the Liverpool striker continues this form in their final Group C match as they take on hosts Kansas City.

Avoiding defeat will secure Uruguay a place in the quarter-finals. Losing the match by less than four goals would see them finish top on goal difference.

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Nunez and Company did their job on the pitch in the first two games, but their delay in getting on the pitch cost Bielsa. After receiving a warning for going 90 seconds late in the opener against Panama, sanctions will follow after the second half of their next one with Bolivia is postponed.

They were fined almost £12,000 by the country’s Football Association and warned about their future behaviour. But the most palpable blow is that Bielsa has been held responsible for the player’s delay and thus assistant coach Diego Reyes will be on the touchline for their next game.

“These regulatory sanctions are never well received because it’s something negative,” Reyes said during a press conference on Sunday. “We took the necessary precautions in the last game and the one before that, but there were still some unexpected events that could not be resolved. It is a regulatory restriction and we have to take it as it comes.”

Bielsa will become the fourth coach to be punished in three days after Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni and Chile’s Ricard Gareca missed the country’s match on Saturday. Venezuela’s Fernando Batista was also absent from their match against Jamaica last night.