Football
ESPN staff 6y

Liga MX to audit Veracruz finances; owner says 'nothing to hide'

Liga MX said Friday that it will conduct an audit of Veracruz's financial records, one day after Mexico's tax authorities announced its own probe into the use of alleged "double contracts" in the league.

"Double contracts" are when a player or employee signs one contract to register with the federation as an official document and then has another on the side directly with the club or separate entity.

In a statement relased Friday, the league said it has asked auditors Ernst & Young to review the club's financial situation "due to the existing discrepency in [Veracruz's] documentation to LIGA MX ... and in statements made by the club's owner, Fidel Kuri Grajales."

The Mexican Football Federation also said it would conduct its own investigation into the club.

There have been regular accusations of the existence of such contracts in Mexico, but the issue gained steam when Guillermo Vazquez accused Veracruz of using the practice after his resignation as the club's manager on Monday.

Vazquez claims the club owes him money and that he was promised a separate, private contract, while Kuri said he doesn't owe Vazquez anything because the contract with the federation had run out and even suggested he never has contracts with his coaches.

Kuri told ESPN Mexico on Friday that he has nothing to hide and that "the doors are open, they can investigate what they want."  

The club owner had said earlier in the week on ESPN Futbol Picante that he didn't owe Vazquez money and "I can show him the contract he signed with me and when it ended. If he has proof that I owe money, he should show it."

The league confirmed Wednesday that Vazquez did actually sign a contract with the club until the end of the 2019 Clausura and it was registered with the federation. But it appears the coach was looking to shore up the additional contract, as the one registered with Liga MX -- seen by ESPN -- was only for 50,000 pesos ($2,600) per month, a lot less than would be expected for a Liga MX manager.

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