FIFA Men's World Cup

Former referee leaves after a few days as coach in Spain

Published Aug. 28, 2019 9:13 a.m. ET

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MADRID (AP) — Former referee Marco Rodríguez, who was in charge of Brazil's 7-1 loss to Germany in the 2014 World Cup semifinals, has lasted only a few days in his first coaching job.

Spanish third-division club Salamanca said Saturday that Mexican Rodríguez's contract was terminated less than a week after he was named coach.

The club did not say why Rodríguez was leaving, but the former referee made comments on social media hinting he could not accept a secondary role to José Luis Trejo, who had initially been picked as coach but could not officially take the position because of a problem with his license.

Rodríguez said on Twitter he "would never allow" his name to be used by someone without proper qualifications.

It would have been his first coaching job since retiring as a referee after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

In addition to the Brazil-Germany semifinal, Rodríguez was also in charge of the Uruguay-Italy group game when Luis Suárez bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini.

Rodríguez, who also has Spanish citizenship, also officiated at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

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