Soccer-Copa-Chile coach plays down hotel incident

PUERTO ORDAZ, Venezuela, July 6 (Reuters) - Chile coach Nelson Acosta played down reports his players had been involved in an unsavoury incident at their hotel but said he was looking into the allegations.

Acosta, whose team face Brazil in the quarter-finals of the Copa America on Saturday, said the episode had been exaggerated by Chilean media.

The reports suggested the incident, which came a day after Chile drew 0-0 with Mexico to qualify, included the consumption of alcohol and damage to the hotel.

"The version the directors gave me was that there was a problem .... and the behaviour of the players was not good," said Acosta.

"I spoke to the players who gave me another version.

"When I spoke to the players at practice, they basically denied everything, although they said they were there. It seemed they made a mistake but nothing like what people are saying.

"There has to be some evidence, otherwise it is the word of one person against the other.

"I've asked the directors to get me some evidence, to see if there was a camera or recording, and I will continue investigating on that basis."

Last year, midfielder Mark Gonzalez and striker Reinaldo Navia were sent home from Dublin where the team played a friendly against Ireland amid allegations of indiscipline.