Venezuela coach resigns two weeks before World Cup qualifiers
Aug 20 (Reuters) - Venezuela soccer coach Jose Peseiro has resigned his position at the national team two weeks before crucial World Cup qualifiers after alleging he and his backroom staff had not been paid on time.
The Portuguese former coach of Sporting and Porto, who took over in February 2020, had been due to lead Venezuela at home to Argentina on Sept. 2 and then away at Peru on Sept. 5 and Paraguay on Sept. 9.
"Yesterday we received a letter from Jose Peseiro rescinding his contract due to the debts due to him and his team," Jorge Gimenez, the president of the Venezuelan Football Federation, said in a statement.
"We spoke with him last night and made him understand that it was very difficult to accept his resignation with the triple-header just days away. He asked for some time and today at 8:30 a.m. he informed us that he and his team had decided not to continue."
Venezuela are the only South American team never to have reached the World Cup finals and they currently sit second bottom in the 10-team qualifying group after six matches.
The top four teams will qualify automatically for Qatar 2022 and the fifth-placed side go into an interregional playoff. (Reporting by Andrew Downie; Editing by William Mallard)
