Uruguay’s coach, Marcelo Bielsa, is suspended for Copa America game against the United States

NEW YORK (AP) — Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa has been suspended by South American soccer’s governing body for coming out late for the second half of the first two Copa America matches and will miss his team’s game against the United States on Monday.

The Confederation of South American Football said Sunday that Bielsa broke tournament rules and it fined the Uruguayan Soccer Association $15,000.

Copa America regulations say players must be on the pitch at a certain time after the break and will be warned after a first violation. The sanction came after the second violation. Uruguay came out late for the second half in victories over Panama and Bolivia.

Bielsa’s penalty is the same given by CONMEBOL to three other Argentine coaches — Lionel Scaloni (Argentina), Ricardo Gareca (Chile) and Fernando Batista (Venezuela) — for the same reason during the tournament being held in the U.S.

“I think they need to make a small adjustment to see if they can get the times right,” Bielsa said. “At the end of the first half, it’s not the right moment to set the stopwatch — that needs to happen when you get to the locker room,” he added. “In several stadiums the locker room is a kilometer away, they need to see that.”

Uruguay faces the U.S. in Kansas City, Missouri, on Monday night.

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