Football fans are outraged after video showed the Uruguay national team being stopped on the side of the road to have security check their luggage with sniffer dogs.
Prior to La Celeste’s opening group stage match against Saudi Arabia, the team was videotaped standing outside their team bus with luggage on the sidewalk.
In the background, a security officer was seen leading a German Shepherd around the bags of the players.
It’s unclear when or where this search was conducted, but the video went viral on Monday just before their opening match in Miami.
This comes after Uruguay needed to scramble to find alternate ways to travel from their base in Cancun after a paperwork issue prevented their airplane from taking off.
La Celeste were stuck in Mexico for several hours and forced to remain at their hotel while waiting for a replacement flight.
The Uruguay national team had their luggage checked by sniffer dogs in Florida on Monday
This came after La Celeste, coached by Marcelo Bielsa, were stuck in Mexico for longer than expected due to aircraft being held up after incorrect paperwork was filed
Uruguay scored late to rescue a 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia on Monday
FIFA told Daily Mail Sport: ‘Due to an airline permitting error in Mexico, the Uruguay national team’s departure from Cancun to Miami was delayed.
‘The airline has apologised for the inconvenience caused. FIFA remained in close contact with the Uruguay national team throughout their delay and worked alongside airport and operational partners to help expedite the process and minimise disruption to the team’s travel arrangements.’
Fans were up in arms and criticized FIFA and the United States for such bizarre security.
‘You can say whatever you want about national security but what other teams went through this? At the very least it could’ve been done in private and not on camera. This was done to humiliate them,’ wrote one user on X.
Another pointed out, ‘FIFA’s silence in all this says a lot.’
‘This isn’t a World Cup anymore, it’s an embarrassment galore,’ one comment read.
One user wondered, ‘What sort of madness is this? Why are they humiliating professional footballers like this? It’s insane.’
Uruguay managed to score late into their match to rescue a 1-1 draw. They next play Cabo Verde in Miami.
