CHILE PULL OUT OF PERU FRIENDLY

Chile have pulled out of their friendly game against Peru due to the current unrest facing the country. The countries football federation made an announcement on its website revealing that the team had decided not to play the friendly match in Peru.

It is understood that a team meeting was held in which the decision to forfeit the game was taken by the squad and the coaching staff.  The Chilean FA also revealed that the players had been released and allowed to return to their clubs.


There had been wild speculations whether the game would hold with a section of local media claiming that the players should boycott the game. Veteran midfielder Charles Aranguiz had revealed that the game should not be played amid the unrest and it seems this has been taken into account.

The South American nation has been plagued by a widespread protest that begun after the increment in metro fares last month. The protest has since spread to widespread anti-government demonstrations not seen since the country returned to democracy two decades ago.

It is understood that there have been at least 20 casualties and thousands injured during this period with several complaints filed as part of human rights abuse.

The Chilean national team were scheduled to play Bolivia initially this week but the game was called off for a similar reason.  The Chile FA have been in discussions with the government and have halted the domestic league as the protest shows no signs of abating.

Chile have enjoyed a bit of renaissance in the past decade in terms of success on the international stage. The country won back to back Copa America titles which was delivered by the current crop of Golden generation led by skipper Claudio Bravo.

Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sanchez have also been pivotal to the development of the team during this period.