The great controversy of Deportivo Pereira-Boca: why the penalty that Chiquito Romero covered should not have been sanctioned

The referee Wagner Magalhaes became an unfortunate protagonist of the duel between Deportivo Pereira y Boca Juniors for Group F of the Libertadores Cup. The judge offered a poor performance, cost him the conduct of the match and turned it into a concert of yellow cards. In addition, he made a mistake that could have been key in the most controversial action of the match in Colombia: the failed penalty of Nicholas Figal a angelo rodriguez moments before the opening of the home owner’s scoreboard.

It was 72 minutes when the No. 9 ran a long ball over the left flank at full power. Paired by Figal, he managed to get his body into position and into the box. The defender rested his arms on the back of the attacker, who dropped. Magalhaes immediately sanctioned the penalty and the VAR, curiously (and just as responsible as the main authority of the lawsuit) did not call to review, so he understood that the decision was correct.

Why wasn’t it criminal? Because the contact was not strong enough to have the identity of an offense: It is the Colombian who collapses when he feels his rival’s hands on his back. And the judge bought and did not evaluate the force applied. Zuluaga executed to the right of Chiquito Romero, who managed to deflect the somewhat announced shot and provoked the celebration of the entire Auriazul squad. Immediately, an assistant to coach Jorge Almirón was expelled for protesting. The celebration did not last long for the visit.

It is that the center came from the left, Valentini closed to score, Arley Rodríguez slipped behind and was paired with Frank Fabra, of smaller physical size. The forward, brother of the aforementioned Ángelo, launched himself into a popcorn and scored the 1-0 that ended up sentencing the final sheet.

Thus, Pereira equaled Xeneize at the top of Zone F with 7 points, although those from La Ribera are first on goal difference (+2 against +1). Third comes Colo Colo, who drew 1-1 with Monagas as a visitor. Thus, the group was left open, two days after the end of the phase. On June 6, the auriazules will host the Chileans, while the Venezuelans will host the Colombians.

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