Five players suspended by Ecuadorian FA after Argentina loss
The Ecuadorian FA has suspended five players over alleged indiscipline ahead of their World Cup qualifying loss to Argentina.
The quintet have been accused of sneaking out of the team hotel ahead of their 3-1 defeat to Argentina in Quito earlier this week.
The game was a dead-rubber for Ecuador but it still had a huge impact on qualifying as a whole, with Argentina's victory allowing them to leapfrog Chile and secure automatic qualification for the World Cup in Russia next summer.
Ecuador took the lead early on, only for an inspired Lionel Messi to put in a dazzling display, scoring a hat-trick to secure his side a vital three points.
The five players have not been named.
A statement made by the Ecuadorian FA read: 'Once (coach) Jorge Celico's report was with us, with the details of all the facts, the committee decide unanimously to suspend indefinitely the five players involved from all Ecuadorian national team activities.'
These revelations threaten to diminish what was a virtuoso performance by Messi, but with Argentina safely qualified, we're sure that he won't mind too much.