Cuban player defects during CONCACAF Gold Cup

Posted Tuesday, June 14, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

CHICAGO (AFP) - Cuban soccer player Yosniel Mesa has defected during the CONCACAF Gold Cup, leaving the team hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina, and telling US media he wants to play professionally outside Cuba.

In an interview aired Sunday on the Spanish language television network Univision, Mesa said he decided before the tournament, the regional championship for North and Central America and the Caribbean, to defect.

Mesa said it was a difficult decision, but he couldn't pursue a professional career outside his homeland.

The website of Miami's El Nuevo Herald newspaper also reported Mesa's defection.

Cuba fell 5-0 to Mexico in Charlotte on Thursday. After the game, Mesa said, he climbed down a fire escape ladder and ran to a car where family members were waiting.

"It was a bit difficult, the coaches were in the lobby of the hotel," Mesa told Univision, adding that he took a glass with him so he could say he was going out for ice if someone from the team saw him.

Mesa was listed as "injured" on Cuba's roster for Sunday's 6-1 loss to El Salvador in Chicago.

The team departed Soldier Field immediately after the match without speaking with the media.