Guillermo Vazquez has blamed his resignation as Veracruz manager on Monday on the existence of "double contracts" in Liga MX and claims the club owes him money.
"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. There have been regular accusations of the existence of such contracts in Mexico.
Vazquez has suggested his contractual situation was abnormal, that he was owed money and that the situation became unsustainable four weeks into the 2018 Apertura season.
"It was a verbal agreement first [with Veracruz], we agreed on the terms and they told me to trust them, that it'd be signed next week," said Vazquez in an interview with ESPN's Futbol Picante on Tuesday night. "[They said] that a contract with the federation had to be signed in which a minimal amount appears and the [separate] contract with the club where the rest of the wage comes from wasn't signed, that's what we were fighting.
"In this case yes [there are double contracts], it's what we saw and from my side it is a learning experience that I won't be allowing to happen again, but it's incredible that the federation allows it."
Liga MX 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 second or "double 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.
Veracruz sporting vice president Mario Trejo confirmed that "double contracts" at the club do exist, even suggesting that Tiburones Rojos aren't the only club in Mexico that has them.
"There are double contracts," Trejo told ESPN. "We'd have to see in other places and see if there are other situations and things that are worse. Now the topic is Veracruz, to kick Veracruz, to say Veracruz is the worst. It's a lie."
The Mexican federation issued a statement on Wednesday condemning the practice of private contracts.
"The Mexican Football Federation [FMF] urges all its affiliates to adhere to the federation's regulations and to settle the conflicts that arise through the different commissions established for such purposes. The FMF condemns all private contracting that is not registered before the administrative bodies of the Liga MX."
Comunicado de la Federación Mexicana de Fútbol https://t.co/3i4zKBFH4S pic.twitter.com/XjNGNXRUqs
— FEMEXFUT (@FMF) August 15, 2018
However, despite the federations stance, Trejo said in a separate interview with ESPN's Raza Deportiva that "double contracts" are a norm in Mexico.
Liga MX president Enrique Bonilla stated that there is little that the Mexican federation could do about the situation, with any dispute concerning a contract not registered with the federation out of its hands.
"Mr. Vazquez will have to go through ordinary courts because unfortunately we don't have jurisdiction over what isn't registered with us," confirmed Bonilla on ESPN AM.
Club owner Fidel 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.
"I don't owe Mr. 'Memo' Vazquez a single cent," said Kuri in an interview with ESPN's Futbol Picante. "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."
Kuri also took a dig at Vazquez when he suggested that Veracruz only stayed in the first division last season because of Lobos BUAP's poor form at the end of the 2018 Clausura.
"His human traumas are his problem, I have my lawyers and he should show [his proof]," aid Kuri, who also serves a federal deputy in Mexico's Congress.
ESPN's Herculez Gomez broke a story on Tuesday suggesting that Veracruz's players are owed money and that the squad is divided due to the fact some players do have official contracts registered with the federation and are being paid and others have "double contracts" and are owed wages.
It hasn't been the only dispute in Liga MX this week, with reports in Argentina suggesting that former Tijuana coach Eduardo Coudet is suing the Liga MX club for lack of dismissal payments after he was removed from his position.
And Toluca full-back Rodrigo Salinas said on Wednesday in a press conference that he had to back down in a contract dispute with his former club Atlas back in 2016 after they arbitrarily lowered his salary.
"I've seen everything," said Salinas. "In my last team, they separated me from the squad because I had a contract when I arrived and they gave me another contract and said if I didn't follow what they said I wouldn't be involved. I didn't go to the preseason. They separated me. I had to accept what they said. They lowered my salary for no reason. They separated me until I had to give in."
Veracruz appears set to hire Chilean Juvenal Olmos as its new head coach.