Nestor De La Torre resigned Tuesday from his high-ranking post with the Mexico Football Federation, a move that comes a month after he handed down fines and suspensions to 13 players involved in a late-night party following a friendly match against Colombia.
The players, led by former Barcelona defender Rafael Marquez, had asked for the resignation of De La Torre - the head of national team selections and the third-highest ranking official in the federation - as a condition to drop their threat to boycott upcoming matches.
Mexico faced Venezuela later Tuesday in a friendly in the northern border city of Ciudad Juarez.
Eleven of the players involved in the incident - all of whom were fined - were expected to play. Two others who were handed six-month suspensions - Arsenal forward Carlos Vela and defender Efrain Juarez of Glasgow Celtic - were not called up for the game.
De La Torre said he resigned because he could not accept the players' demand for a public apology. Players reportedly made that a condition in a meeting Sunday with Mexican federation president Justino Compean.
''The reality is that they want me to apologize,'' De La Torre told reporters. ''But it would be a public apology for applying the rules. I can't agree to do this and therefore I am presenting my resignation.
''Nobody has forced me to do this. No one led me to do this. I am not able to accept that players set up conditions for playing. I can't accept that they set down conditions to work out the problem.''
De La Torre argued he was simply enforcing the rules. But players said the party in Monterrey had come after their formal obligations to the team had ended following the match.
The Mexican federation offered few details about the party, but local media said family members, friends and unidentified women attended the party, which lasted until dawn.
Two weeks ago, Decio De Maria, secretary general of the federation and the second highest-ranking official, said he would not accept the players setting conditions for talks and that De La Torre's job was not on the line.
However, with Tuesday's announcement, it would appear that De La Torre may have lost the support of his superiors.
Unrest has followed Mexico's national team since it was eliminated in the second round of this year's World Cup. The loss to Argentina was followed by the resignation of coach Javier Aguirre. Since then interim coaches Enrique Mesa and Efrain Flores have handled the team.
Victor Manuel Vucetich, coach of Mexican club Monterrey, is expected to be named the new coach next week. The federation said the only other candidate interviewed was Toluca coach Jose Manuel De la Torre.
