"We
regret this sanction but we will accept it," the Chilean Football
Federation (ANFP) said in a statement on its website after Jara was
ruled out of Chile's semifinal with Peru as well as the final if the
hosts win Monday's game.
CONMEBOL
opened disciplinary proceedings against Jara on Saturday, saying it was
obliged to do so after receiving a formal complaint about the player's
conduct by Uruguayan officials.
Cavani
was given a second yellow card for retaliating by slapping Jara in the
face, while the Chilean went unpunished as the poking incident was
missed by the match officials last week.
Jara
has been one of Chile's top performers at the tournament, forming a
solid partnership in the heart of defence with Inter Milan's Gary Medel
and his suspension means one of either Francisco Silva, Miiko Albornoz
or Jose Rojas will come in.
While
accepting Jara's punishment, the ANFP wants similar punishments handed
out to Uruguay players for their behavior during the game.
"We're
confident that the appointed disciplinary authority of the governing
body of South American football will also apply the same rigor to the
players of the Uruguay national team that were opportunely reported to
have assaulted the assistant referee of the Chile-Uruguay match, Chilean
players, disrespected the officials and the assistant to the stadium
audience."
The ANFP named seven
Uruguayan players -- Cavani, Diego Godin, Fernando Muslera, José
Giménez, Jorge Fucile, Alvaro Gonzalez and Christian Stuani -- in its
submission to CONMEBOL.
"The charges
against them are the attacks and insults evident in Wednesday's game
between Chile and Uruguay in the Copa America 2015, against the
refereeing body and Chilean players, as well as provoking the audience
at the National Stadium."
Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli has criticized Jara's suspension, arguing it had set a dangerous precedent.
"If you start acting on allegations outside of the referees report, things are going to get very complicated," Sampaoli said.
"If
people start getting suspended on the basis of allegations from one
side, then everyone will start trying to do it," he added.
Jara's
provocation of Cavani was arguably reminiscent of some of the dark arts
Uruguayan footballers have traditionally employed to put opponents off
their stride.
Think of Luis Suarez
biting Giorgio Chiellini, the violence-plagued Intercontinental Cup
matches of yesteryear or any of the array of tricks used by former
Juventus defender Paolo Montero, who still holds the record for the most
dismissals -- 16 -- in Italy's Serie A.
Scottish players were also shocked by what went on in their 1986 World Cup game against Uruguay.
"It
was awful. They would kick you, spit on you, pull your hair and put
their fingers in places where fingers shouldn't go," striker Graeme
Sharp
told The Daily Telegraph last year.
"They were horrible, but their mentality was to win at all costs."
Meanwhile,
former Uruguay captain Diego Lugano took to social media to warn Jara
that he could be something of a marked man in future.
"This
boy 'Jarita' will have to 'talk' when we next meet in the world," said
Lugano's Twitter post, which has been retweeted over 12,000 times.
Repeat Offender
The
incident made front page news in Uruguay but the match report by
Chile's state-owned La Nacion failed to mention Jara's bizarre behaviour
when discussing Cavani's dismissal.
Jara, who plays for German Bundesliga side Mainz 05, has history of past provocations.
Quite aside from becoming overly acquainted with Cavani's rear, he is also no stranger to Suarez's nether regions.
In
2013, the 29-year-old touched Suarez's genitals as both players awaited
a corner during a World Cup qualifier, prompting the then Liverpool
striker to lash out.
Gonzalo Higuain was also the victim of an attempted bum poke when Chile and Argentina met in 2012.
Suarez
is not at the Copa America because of his own role in one of sport's
more unsavory events when after biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini at the
2014 World Cup, the Barcelona forward earned a nine-game international
ban.
After Cavani's dismissal, things went from bad to worse for Tabarez's side.
Uruguay
finished the game with nine men, with Jorge Fucile's late red card
sparking a lengthy confrontation between players and officials from both
sides as well as the dismissal of coach Tabarez.
