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SD Aucas coach César Farías needs help to control his anger bursts. It could be a therapy session, binge-watching Ted Lasso, or anything that can do the trick. He has a history of violent incidents throughout his career and just added one more after punching two opposition players during a game in Ecuador's first division last weekend.
Coach César Farías punches players in Ecuador
So what happened? While disputing a ball with Aucas' defender Luis Cangá, Delfín SC's forward Juan Pablo Ruiz lost his balance and, after trying to regain control of his body, ended up stumbling upon Farías.
All inertia.
However, Farías thought it was on purpose and snapped, throwing punches and kicking Ruiz. The ref quickly showed him the red card, but Farías was not done. Walking toward the official, he opened his left arm and slammed it on Delfín SC's number 10, Brian Oyola.
Se le escapó la tortuga a Cesar Farías en el fútbol ecuatoriano. La violencia no tiene excusa. El choque del jugador con él es totalmente accidental y reacciona golpeando a dos jugadores rivales. pic.twitter.com/Nz5FDRy9tx
— Pedro Bozo (@pedrobozoa) June 11, 2023
Of course, the whole sequence has been the center of the debate in Ecuador, with people asking for exemplary punishment. Personally, I can't understand how he is still in his position after what we all witnessed.
SD Aucas hasn't been very vocal online about Farías' actions, but at least the coach eventually gathered some decorum and half apologized for his rage spree during an interview with ESPN.
"I want to apologize to the Ecuadorian family because this is not the image I want you to have of me. Despite this being only soccer, that it is passional and intense, it is not what you want to transmit. No violent reaction has a justification," Farías said before starting with the "buts."
"QUIERO PEDIR DISCULPAS A LA FAMILA ECUATORIANA. MI REACCIÓN FUE DETESTABLE". Cesar Farías habló en exclusiva con #SportsCenter y se refirió al bochornoso episodio en el cual agredió a dos jugadores de Delfín en el partido ante su equipo Aucas. pic.twitter.com/B6lYUQIclv
— SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) June 12, 2023
"I reacted before someone ran over me. I'm not saying it is right, but it didn't happen without a motive," Farías said in the interview. "I'm convinced he (Ruiz) could have avoided it (the impact). If I'm about to run over you, I embrace you. I don't go with my forearm upfront. He impacted me with his forearm, the knee, the elbow..."
Farías' anger history
Farías could indeed have misinterpreted Ruiz's intentions in the heat of the moment, but what about the hook over Oyola? He didn't go there.
And what doesn't look great in his case is the fact that his past has a bunch of other incidents where he went ballistic or showed bully traits.
As a manager of the Bolivian national team, there are reports of two aggressive conduct toward members of the local federation, while as the coach of the Venezuelan national team, he had scuffles with Gerardo Martino (former coach of Paraguay) and Neymar in the Copa América 2011.
At the time, Neymar was still at Santos in Brazil, and Farías trolled him by saying that his performances were not worthy of all the talks about a potential move to Europe. It got so bad that both faced each other in the tunnels of the Estadio Ciudad de la Plata in Argentina.
