2024-07-09 20:42:55
Unpunished attacks and goals from dubious positions have dominated the headlines of the continental competition, which have pointed to the questionable South American refereeing.
The Copa America 2024 has been marked by dVarious controversies surrounding refereeing and VARwhich has unleashed a wave of criticism towards the judges in charge. The most recent has to do with the match between Uruguay and the United Stateswhere the Celeste won 1-0 thanks to a goal in a dubious position.
Referee Kevin Ortega (PER) and the VAR validated the goal of Mathias Olivera after a possible offside that was ultimately not called, which meant the elimination of the local team from the competition.
Due to the controversy that this situation caused in North America, considering the image that Conmebol used to support the judges’ decision, hours later the photos were released VAR audioswhere they explained the decision to grant the score.
“We are drawing lines, that is very good, they are fine situations. Ok, both situations are fine but enabled“, is part of what you hear in the cabin.
Faced with this fact that has been repeated throughout the Copa América, Javier Castrilli reacted angrily to the image that was used to decide whether the play was valid.
“Note that the VAR draws the line when the ball is still reaching the Uruguayan player’s head. While the photo above is taken at the moment it is hit. How they try to deceive us! They have no shame”stated the former head of Chilean football referees.
He added: “You can’t believe the goal they gave Uruguay against the USA…!!! Clearly in an offside position and, after a long delay, they gave them the goal..!!!” “It’s tremendous what is happening in this Copa America with the refereeing..!”
Refereeing and VAR in question: the other controversies that have arisen from the 2024 Copa América
Unfortunately, this is not the only controversial charge that has taken place in the continental competition. La Roja suffered it firsthand against Argentina and Canada, which, added to the lackluster play shown in the group stage, resulted in Chile’s elimination.
In the duel against the Albiceleste, Cristian Holiday Romero He was the protagonist of a possible penalty against Victor Davila. After that, Rodrigo de Paul tackled Gabriel Suazo which was not even penalized with a yellow card. Neither of the two plays was reviewed by the VAR.
However, the situation that generated the most discussion on social networks was the Argentina’s goal, which came from a dubious position. After the VAR audios were released, the referees confirmed that the player Giovani Lo Celso is “allowed” to finish on the goal linewho shot and caused the rebound to fall to Lautaro Martínez, who transformed it into a goal.
The worst came later. When La Roja was playing for its life against Canada, it found itself under the influence of referee Wilmar Roldán, an old acquaintance of the Chilean national team.
Canadian Moïse Bombito elbowed Rodrigo Echeverría in the area just four minutes into the match, which should have been sanctioned with a red card. The fourth official indicated that the elbow “was not intended to hit”, to which Wilmar Roldán pointed out that “he just put his arm there”.
In light of these facts, Conmebol ended up acknowledging that the refereeing body made a mistake by not expelling the Canadian player.
“In the 4th minute, during a corner kick restart, with the ball not in play, an attacker in white (Canada) hits the player in red and blue (Chile) in the face with his elbow, which is considered violent conduct and, therefore, a red card,” the organization said.
Along these lines, they questioned that “the referee does not take any disciplinary action in response to this action. The VAR, in its protocol check, using angles and speeds, fails to identify the violent conduct and incorrectly confirms the on-field decision.”