Argentine coaches detained in Venezuela: The story of Verón and Haupt

The brawl that ended with two Argentine technicians imprisoned in Venezuela

It had been a hectic day for Gustavo Verón and Andrés Haupt. Surely the most uncomfortable for them since they had arrived in Venezuela to take charge of the youth teams of Club Deportivo La Guaira. The experience, until February 27, had been satisfactory. But that day they were involved in an annoying situation, but ultimately nothing far from the tensions that can be experienced in a soccer match. Nothing, then, made them predict what would happen.

That day at night, say those who had access to the Argentine coaches’ story, the local police forces showed up at Haupt’s house. They asked him to accompany him because they had to take his statement: when he arrived at the police station they notified him that he had to hand over his belongings because he was going to be detained. They also arrived at the home that Verón shared with his wife and his baby. He was not there, but they left him a notification with the same reason: he had to provide testimony after what happened. When he became aware, he showed up at the scene and the same scene that his colleague had experienced hours before was repeated.

And since then they have been detained for 81 days while their situation is resolved and it is analyzed how much support there is for the “aggression, very serious injuries and incitement to hatred” that was blamed on them for the brawl that arose after the friendly between Unión Central de Venezuela and their club, La Guaira, as reported in recent days by Infobae. Verón claims that he intervened in the fight to get his partner out, because he was being beaten by several members of the UCV delegation. In that clash, there was an attack on one of the authorities of the rival club, who they point out to have strong ties to the government of Nicolás Maduro. In fact, it was found that the injuries reported were not serious.

The two Argentine coaches still share a cell in Zone 7 Boleita of Caracas with other inmates in the Preventive Detention Centers (CDP), where those detained for minor crimes are located. During the last few weeks, the family contacted the Argentine lawyer Matías Morla and his case was left in the hands of his law firm with the intention of ending the ordeal they are experiencing. The objective is set on the date of next Tuesday, May 21, when a key meeting will be held to try to refute the charges against them, especially that of “incitement to hatred”, which in Venezuela has penalties that worry those around the coaches.

In that preliminary hearing they will carry out their defense, explain what happened, and present their arguments to refute the charges that they do not understand why they are being brought against them. This procedure is carried out by judicial officials with those arrested for minor crimes in order to expedite the cases and reduce the processes. The best scenario would be that from there they regain their precious freedom, otherwise they could go to trial. It is not a small day if you take into account the references that this media provided months ago about the prison situation in that country.

Verón and Haupt have remained detained for 81 days (Video capture)

Meanwhile, Gustavo and Andrés remain imprisoned. Although they have access to a cell phone to communicate and have not registered any problems since they were deprived of their freedom, they do not receive visitors and have the president of the club that had hired them as a link with Argentina.

Until that fateful day, everything had been a dream for them. The promises that the club had made to them to take the job in August 2023 were fulfilled, with a home for both of them. Even Gustavo’s partner and daughter remain in Venezuela.

“This case is directly linked to a political issue. Our clients today were held hostage by the fight between the governments of Argentina and Venezuela. Both Gustavo and Andrés have exemplary behavior since the first day they arrived in the country. They went to work with their families and never had a problem. “This was a typical fight at a soccer match and today they have been detained for three months, a total injustice that can only be analyzed in a political and not a legal way,” Morla had stressed. And she added: “We are working together with several international organizations, accompanying the family and doing everything that the law firm has at its disposal so that they are released and return to Argentina. The injuries of the complainant were minor and in any case, if there is a process, the fact in itself means that both of them will wait for him to be released.” Although there is a fluid dialogue with the Foreign Ministry on the issue, from the defense side they will try to achieve a more active participation of Argentina to end the dramatic moment that these two coaches are experiencing if on May 21 there is an unexpected judicial setback .

The Argentines have the professional coaching card issued by the ATFA (Argentine Football Coaches Association), and they have the Conmebol license. In August of last year, when they took charge of the La Guaira training sessions, the club’s official youth networks had celebrated the arrival of both in the role of General coordinator (Verón) and methodological coordinator (Haupt): “We continue betting on the development of our training categories!”, they marked from the Orange to present the work of the new leaders of the structure.

“We are excited to be here, eager to work so that the youth players can join the professional squad tomorrow,” Haupt said at the time. “The challenge, the objective we have here, is to try to train and strengthen. “We are prepared,” Verón joined. It was the opportunity for both of them to show their tools as heads of a project for a country that in 2023, for example, reached the round of 16 of the U-17 World Cup. But everything fell apart…

2024-05-18 04:02:00
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