Ignacio Iglesias Villanuevathe referee in charge of VAR in Cádiz-Elche last Monday, has written an open letter on the Spanish Federation page in which he acknowledges his mistake in not reviewing the visiting team’s goal and apologizes to Cádiz.
The Galician collegiate thus reacts to the “avalanche of comments, criticisms and speculations expressed on this subject.”
The arbitrator, who says he has the support of the Committee when drafting his brief, summarizes his words in this sentence: “I was wrong.”
«I don’t feel like using an automaton and hackneyed speech to say things like: we all make mistakes, the players also fail, the coaches… I prefer to write from the absolute sincerity of what I feel and without falling into victimhood since it is something I hate “, keep going.
Iglesias Villanueva did not check Ponce’s possible offside at the start of the play that ended in Elche’s goal, an error described as scandalous as there was no possible interpretation of the play. The goal should never have gone up on the scoreboard. «What I feel is anger, anger, pain and annoyance with myself for the mistake made.
I also feel that a mistake serves to tarnish and harshly criticize the work carried out by the CTA and all my fellow referees”.
The referee was supposed to act as a VAR referee in the Levante-Atlético match in the Copa del Rey this Wednesday, but was removed by the appointments committee after his mistake. “I am sorry that a bad decision of mine has harmed Cádiz CF and I apologize for it to the entity and its fans, where they have always treated me with great respect.”
Iglesias Villanueva takes advantage of his writing to charge against those who question the independence of the referees: «I am sorry that the honesty and independence of the referees and their decisions are questioned every weekend, almost daily. Since I dedicate myself to this profession I have never received the slightest suggestion or interference of any kind in this regard. Doubting the latter generates a climate of mistrust and tension that is impossible for the development of our work».
«I am not in favor of referees talking about plays or explaining our mistakes, but surely due to the exceptionality of the situation, the fans and football this time deserved it. The one who has lost the most in this story is me, “concludes Iglesias Villanueva.
Competition is inhibited in the challenge of Cádiz
On the other hand, the Competition Committee has already responded to the letter challenging the match made by Cádiz, which asked to repeat the match from minute 81 due to the serious error in Elche’s goal. Competition has declared itself not competent to give the go-ahead to the challenge, so it closes the main claim route of the yellow team. “In accordance with the provisions of the aforementioned regulations, the scope of sports discipline extends to infringements of the rules of the game or competition, classified as such in the RFEF Disciplinary Code and other regulations applicable to sports discipline, whether the infringements of the general sports regulations, also typified in such regulations, not finding ourselves in the case presented by Cádiz CF before any of the aforementioned cases. Therefore, this Committee agrees to declare its lack of competence to hear the challenge presented “.
Now, Cádiz will have the possibility to continue with the challenge through the Appeals Committee. If it is not resolved in your favor, you could still go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The team chaired by Manuel Vizcaíno did not rule out going to ordinary Justice in the event of relegation at the end of the season.
