The Bolivian striker Marcelo Martins has been banned from a game because of his criticism of the transfer of the Copa America to Brazil and the South American football association Conmebol.

In addition, the professional from the Brazilian two-tier club Cruzeiro Belo Horizonte has to pay a fine of US $ 20,000, as the association announced on Friday.

Martins had tested positive for the corona virus the day before the Copa América kick-off last Sunday. After that, he is said to have expressed himself critically about the Conmebol on social media. Among other things, he apparently accused the football association of putting profit above the health of the players. If Martins repeats his allegations, he faces a one-year ban, according to the association.

The South American continental tournament was only moved to Brazil a few weeks after Argentina dropped out as the host because of the second corona wave. The South American football association Conmebol then came under fire because Brazil is still a corona hotspot: Over 17.8 million people have been shown to have been infected with the corona virus, and almost half a million people have died in connection with Covid-19 so far . So far, 65 people have tested positive for the corona virus at the Copa America.

Led by a well-humored Lionel Messi, Argentina meanwhile won the football classic against Uruguay and their superstars Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani 1-0 (1-0).

The "Gauchos" took over the table lead in Group A in front of the Chileans, who also had four points, who had previously defeated Bolivia 1-0 (1-0).

"Bravo Messi, good selection and classic triumph," was the headline of Argentina's sports newspaper Ole.

Messi not only played Guido Rodriguez (13th) perfectly for his first goal in the national jersey, almost all of the Argentine’s dangerous actions also ran through the 33-year-old.

In Cuiaba, the naturalized Englishman Ben Brereton exploited an exemplary counterattack by the Chileans over the former Bundesliga players Arturo Vidal and Eduardo Vargos after nine minutes to score the day's goal against Bolivia.

As before in the 1-1 draw against Argentina, Charles Aranguiz from Leverkusen was one of the assets in midfield at La Roja.

Protest against Nike

However, Vidal and Co. caused a stir with an action against their jersey sponsor (Nike).

Because the supplier allegedly failed to pay 4.2 million US dollars from the 2019/20 season, the entire team covered the company symbol on the shirt chest with a Chilean flag.

For its part, the company insists that the Chileans have not fulfilled their obligations.

The case is already before an arbitration tribunal in New York.