Santiago Solari's América loses a game due to an error in the alignment

Santiago Solari, coach of América, during the match against Atlas.Francisco Guasco / EFE

Santiago Solari received his first setback in Mexico.

And it did not happen in the field.

América, led by the Argentine coach, had won a routine match in the Mexican League against Atlas 0-2 last Saturday and had established itself as the leader of the Mexican championship.

During the match, however, the press noticed that one of the players, Federico Viñas, had warmed up, was on the substitutes bench for half an hour and then disappeared.

The footballer had not been registered for the game that day, in a serious error by the team that violated the regulations.

Solari defended that Viñas had not been in the lineup.

A logistical error of the club that borders between the historical and the unheard of.

Two days after the game, the Disciplinary Commission ruled that they would take away the victory from América due to improper alignment and, as punishment, they lost the game 3-0.

The punishment has been historic for one of the most popular and media teams in Mexico.

"On behalf of the Club América board of directors, we offer an apology to all our fans, coaching staff and players for what happened," read a statement offered by the team.

"We are aware that administrative errors, such as the presence of Federico Viñas on the bench without having been registered, are unacceptable in an institution with the greatness of the club."

In Mexico each club must register the footballers, starters and substitutes, in a database before: eleven field players and 10 substitutes.

In the case of América, the personnel in charge of the registry forgot or omitted the name of the Uruguayan Viñas.

After 30 minutes of the game, one of the referees notified Solari's team that the footballer had to go to one of the boxes due to the error.

Solari's management in America had been splendid.

Before the victory against Atlas was taken away, the Argentine's pupils had established themselves in the top places in the standings with four wins, one draw and one defeat.