The controversy over Benedetto’s goal for Boca’s 2-0: why didn’t they charge Payero for offside?

Argentine football at the time of the VAR is like this: what it doesn’t give you in one appointment, it can give you in the next one. And that feeling could go through Boca players, coaching staff, leaders and fans at the moment. Why On the night of La Bombonera, a goal was validated at the club that had to be disallowed with technological work. Or so it seemed…

the game was a lethal counterattack by Boca culminating in a strong definition from Darío Benedetto Entering the far post and connecting a nice cross from Luis Advíncula. It happened that in the path of the Peruvian ball for Pipa, Martín Payero tried to touch it and couldn’t deflect it. The former Banfield was in a clearly advanced position, if one pays attention to the grass cuttings. It took seconds for assistant Ezequiel Brailovsky to raise the flag. There was confusion because it was not clear whether the overs whether it was charged or not. Fernando Espinoza put his hand to his right ear and in less than a minute Lucas Novelli, the head of the VAR, conceded the goal.

Two repeats were shown on television. In the first, the cut was made when the ball was on the cutting line and when it came out of Advíncula’s tally. There was a very clear offside. In the second sequence, the impact cut of Advíncula has been lengthened a bit more and the action is finer there, even if Payero still looks advanced.

Guillermo Farré complained about the action, but not very loudly. Now we have to wait for the drawing of the lines. And continue arguing, because the VAR hasn’t come to close the discussions.

“The rigor is very doubtful. I asked the referee and he told me it’s a clean penalty. At no point did he consult the VAR from what I understand. Given the play, it’s not a chargeable penalty, it’s a minimal touch and should never have been charged. It’s not a kick that blew his leg off. I asked the River player and he said ‘it’s my turn’ and touched the shin guard”were the words of Sergio Romero after the defeat of Monumental for the penalty sanctioned by Darío Herrera in the last minute of the duel. And I add: “It’s very difficult to define Herrera’s refereeing. He told me to my face that the VAR had told him it was a penalty and it wasn’t like that. He did a good job in the first half, but the game got out of hand in the second half”.

Once again a controversial action with the participation – or otherwise – of the VAR. It will always be like this. That’s why sometimes it gives you, sometimes it takes away…