Rangers lose. A global scandal is said to have engulfed Jose Cifuentes after Ecuadorian players went out clubbing in New York after their weekend friendly against Italy.
The misfit midfielder, who is now on loan from the Light Blues to Cruzeiro in Brazil, did not play in Sunday’s 2-0 loss of his nation against the Azzurri at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey. On social media, footage of several team players in an adult nightclub the night before the match surfaced. Among them was the sixteen-year-old wonderkid Kendry Paez, who is expected to sign a £17 million contract to join Chelsea from Independiente del Valle after turning eighteen in the summer of 2025.
In a statement, the Ecuador Football Association (FA) identified Paez as one of four players who were allegedly involved: Robert Arboleda, Piero Hincapie, Gonzalo Plata, and Paez. “Given the publicly known facts, the FEF expresses the following,” they stated. On Friday, March 22, the official delegation was allowed free time from 2:00 pm to 8:30 pm, a schedule that was strictly adhered to. There have been images released of incidents that run counter to the ideals and values that we [FEF] uphold as an organization, and this will be taken into consideration when analyzing any upcoming call-ups.
Along with Willian Pacho, Jeremy Sarmiento, Moises Caicedo, and other Chelsea players, Rangers midfielder Cifuentes is implicated in claims from South America claiming that other players were seen separately in another nightclub.
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