It was the controversy of the game. Six minutes into the second half and after a carom, the ball hit Cristian Lema, Boca defender, in the match against River, for the quarterfinals of the League Cup, and went against his own fence. Goalkeeper Sergio “Chiquito” Romero flew back and managed to get it out. The referee Yael Falcón Pérez, at the request of the lineman, sanctioned the goal. But did the ball go in?
Then, the VAR spoke. And after three minutes of deliberating and watching replays, he determined not to. That it wasn’t a goal. It should be remembered that, according to the regulations, the entire circumference must cross the goal line.
As expected, all of Boca celebrated it as their own goal, because it allowed them to remain 1-1 in the result, and 10 minutes later they took the lead. It is worth remembering that in our country there is no GoalRef, as it is used in Europe, a device by which there are sensors in the goal and the ball has a chip to determine if it crossed the line.
The fight between Borja and Rojo
The second half had just begun between River and Boca, with the score 1 to 1. They were barely settling in when a long ball towards Borja was dominated with his body by Marcos Rojo. The Colombian, now with no chance of winning the position, bumped the Xeneize defender, who reacted badly: he grabbed him by the neck.
That led to a clash between several players, the vast majority not wanting to fight. The only ones who almost had a fight, but who only exchanged insults, were the Chilean Paulo Díaz and the Uruguayan Edinson Cavani. Although they managed to calm them down.
Falcón Pérez’s decision was to warn Borja and Rojo, and the actions continued.