MEXICO - The cancellation of the World Cup in Mexico in the summer of last year still has big consequences for the players and the Mexican federation. The tournament, which should be organized in Nayarit by the famous artistic player Roberto Rojas, was canceled because the threats of criminal organizations. Therefore the safety of the players and officials could not be guaranteed. The UMB (world federation of billiards) subsequently had its doubts about the reason for cancellation.
The UMB has sanctioned the Mexican federation last year: they are not allowed to organize tournaments for UMB and players may not participate in World Cups, World championships, the Pan-American championships and other international tournaments. Daniel Campos Duarte, one of the top players: ,,I cannot understand why the UMB has punished the players. They haven't ask for the World Cup tournament, they only want to play.''
Jean Claude Dupont, president of the UMB, wants to put the Mexican federation (and the organizer of the World Cup) under pressure with the sanction. ,,We still want to repay the players who already had booked the trip to Mexico'', Dupont says. ,,That amount we want to recover from the Mexican federation, who has supported the organization of the World Cup until the last moment. As soon as the money has been paid, the suspension will be discontinued.''
The intention of the UMB has always been to pay back the duped players in this case, especially since earlier last year the World Cup in Las Vegas was taken from the calendar by organizational problems. Dupont: ,,But Las Vegas was another problem, the World Cup there was cancelled before the inscription had been opened.''
The Mexican federation and the players (about five hundred three-cushion players of a reasonable level) deplore the decision of the UMB. Raymundo Munoz and Javier Vera, the current number one in the country, were the last players who could participate in the World championship in Lima last year. This year players are not accepted anymore, not in the World championship, nor in the Pan-Americans or the World Cups.
Jose Norberto Sánchez, president of the Mexican federation: ,,I suspect that it is a precaution that was taken on the basis of available information. There we disagree. I will therefore continue for giving our explanation of the case. We have asked the organizer of the World Cup for a reason why the tournament has been cancelled. So far we only received a letter in which he writes that it was the insecurity in the town of organization. The strange thing is that we have organized a national event one month later in the same city. And we didn't have any problems.''
The chairman wants refer the case to the organizer Roberto Rojas, the former world top artistic player. ,,We have asked him to solve the problem, but his reaction was negative.''
Sánchez estimates the decision of the UMB ,,perhaps as correctly'', but he thinks it's also unfair. ,,We have reported that the tournament could not be organized, but we have not had a chance to find another location.''
The Mexican top players consider the sanction with a sense of dishonesty, but also sadness. The brothers Daniel and Alan Campos Duarte are pleading for a quick solution. Alan: ,,We are the victims of this case, while we are on the outside. As far as I could see, it was indeed unsafe and unwise for the World Cup to play in Nayarit. On the news and in newspapers we saw empty streets. People did'nt dare to go shopping and went home early.''
,,So definitly there was threat. But why should we, the players, be suspended? We may not participate in the Pan-American championship, we can not play the World championship for teams in Vierssen. I am sad, I even could cry, because this is inhumane for the Mexican billiard players.''