Panama fined, players suspended over Gold Cup uproar

Two Panamanian footballers have been suspended and the country's federation ordered to pay an undisclosed fine following the mayhem which erupted towards the end of their stormy Gold Cup semi-final exit, a statement said.

The ruling body for football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) said in a statement released Friday that Jaime Penedo and Luis Tejada were given two-match suspensions following the semi-final.

Penedo was suspended for shoving one of the assistant referees after the conclusion of the match, which saw Panama lose 2-1 to Mexico after a hugely controversial penalty in injury time denied the Panamanians a famous win.

Tejada was given a two-game ban for his red card picked up during the match -- one game for the red card itself, and an additional game for failing to leave the field swiftly after his dismissal.

"The Panamanian Football Federation was fined an undisclosed amount for team misconduct both on and off the field," CONCACAF added.

Wednesday's semi-final loss was marred by incredible scenes towards the end of normal time, when play was held up for 10 minutes as Panama's players protested the penalty decision against them.

Meanwhile CONCACAF said it had issued fines against Mexican national team coach Miguel Herrera and United States player Michael Bradley for breaching tournament media regulations.

The Gold Cup winds up in Philadelphia this weekend with the third-place play-off between the United States and Panama on Saturday and the final between Mexico and Jamaica on Sunday.
Source: AFP