Prostitutes get eight Mexican soccer players suspended from Copa America

Eight players on Mexico's national soccer team are being forced to sit out of next month's Copa America tournament after they were found bringing prostitutes into their hotel rooms while training in Ecuador.

The footballers were caught when they reported that valuables such as iPads and laptops had been stolen from their rooms. The hotel manager caught team managers ushering the players' dates into the rooms on video while investigating the incident.

All eight players were immediately suspended from the national team and are not accompanying their colleagues to Argentina for the 2011 Copa America, a South and Central American soccer tournament that starts on July 1. It is called the most important football event in Latin America. The suspensions reduce Mexico's roster to 14 for their July 4 match against Chile.

One of the suspended players is FC Barcelona's Jonathan dos Santos (not to be confused with his older brother Giovani dos Santos, who is currently on loan to Racing Santander from Tottenham Hotspur). Dos Santos, who is 21 years old, is the most famous player suspended in the scandal.

The other seven players are Nestor Vidrio, Javier Cortes, David Cabrera, Nestor Claderon, Israel Jimenez, Jorge Hernandez and Marco Fabian.

The news follows earlier suspensions of five players who tested positive for banned substances earlier this month.