Bolivia say no explanation given by Venezuela over 12-hour flight delay after World Cup defeat
The Bolivian Football Federation (FBF) have said they were given no explanation by Venezuelan authorities after their charter flight back to La Paz was denied takeoff on Friday.
Venezuela, who have never previously qualified for a men's World Cup, defeated Bolivia 2-0 in Maturin on Friday in a crucial qualification match for next year's finals, which will be played across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
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With three rounds of matches remaining in South American qualifying, Venezuela are seventh in the 10-team group — with Friday's result taking them four points above eighth-place Bolivia — which would see them go into a play-off to reach the tournament.
Following Friday's match, the Bolivian team's chartered flight back to the nation's capital La Paz — where they will host 10th-place Chile on Tuesday — was delayed by over 12 hours.
Carlos Pino, the team manager and coordinator of national teams for the FBF, is cited by press agency EFE as saying the team were told by authorities at the Venezuelan airport that 'there is no authorisation for the flight as international flights are suspended.'
Pino said: 'Obviously, the only international flight available is ours. There are no other international flights here, and they're suspending our flight without giving any reason.'
Bolivia head coach Oscar Villegas alleges that the FBF had spoken with officials from the Bolivian government and with Venezuelan diplomats in La Paz, as they he claims to have been informed that the Peru national team faced an eight-hour airport delay when they played in Venezuela on March 25.
🔴 #sports360bolivia La molestia de Óscar Villegas por la demora que impide el retorno de la Verde a nuestro país. pic.twitter.com/s38JO8dtze
— Sports 360 (@Sports_360Bol) June 7, 2025
'We asked them (the Bolivian government) to please contact the Venezuelan government so that they don't do the same thing to us that they did to Peru,' Villegas said.
'This is normal. We expected it and alerted our country's government minister last week. They did the same to Peru and kept them at this airport for eight hours. This is nothing unusual; this is how they handle visitors.'
The 12-hour delay meant Bolivia did not have time to partake in their planned training session on Saturday, ahead of their next qualification match against Chile on Tuesday.
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Argentina are the only South American nation to have sealed qualification to the 2026 World Cup, with five more nations to automatically join the current world champions; Ecuador, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia currently occupy the remaining automatic qualification places.
Venezuela travel to Uruguay on Tuesday before concluding their campaign in September with an away match in Argentina and home game against Colombia.
(Image of Bolivian team before Friday's match in Venezuela: Jonathan Lanza/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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