The three faces of Andrés Merlos: First Division referee, Air Force non-commissioned officer and now leader of a frantic Mendoza league

Multitasking is an English word whose use has become increasingly frequent in recent years to refer to a person’s ability to perform multiple tasks at the same time. Andrés Merlos seems to enjoy that virtue: international referee mendocino, which is also Non-commissioned officer of the Argentine Air Forcebecame president of the Alvearense Football Leaguefrom his home province.

In the Extraordinary General Assembly which was held on Wednesday evening at the institution’s headquarters, Merlos was elected on the proposal of the Club Atlético Colón and became the 18th president in the history of the League, which celebrated 80 years of existence on 7 September (the first was Transito Ferreyra). He will replace Homero Di Berardino, who assumed command on January 23, 2023 and who will now hold the vice presidency.

“I am very happy and grateful to the entire General Alvear football family. We have an important project. This wasn’t born overnight, we’ve been working with Homero Di Bernardino for more than a year. Although I was in the Referee School, I was working at the same time to solve many problems that existed and continue to exist in the League.”said after his appointment the judge who officiated the final of the 80 Years League Cup on December 17, which Bowen beat Ferro 1-0 at the Héctor Antonio Moncada stadium.

It is clear that his commitments as a referee in national and international tournaments will prevent the 42-year-old from San Rafael from taking charge of the daily management of the League, which, as he explained, will not be a problem. “You have to know how to delegate. I’ve done this with other positions I’ve had in my career. Homero (Di Berardino) will be my right hand man. This year has shown me that you can achieve a lot with little.”he pointed.

Merlos’ presence and influence in Mendoza football is not new and is not limited to General Alvear, a department of 50,000 inhabitants in the south of the province. Last December 20, the referee aspired to the vice-presidency of the nearby Sanrafaelina Football League as a member of the list led by Gastón Ureta (representing the Sportivo El Porvenir club) in the elections that ended up anointing Diego Martín (promoted by the Sportivo Pedal Club).

Moreover, Merlos is president of the Referee School of the Sanrafaelina League. And in October 2023, that League, during the transition management of Juan Enrique Bielli (he had assumed the presidency after the death of Alberto Pérez Gasul), had appointed him as its representative before the Federal Council “for his exceptional career and his precious actions. “for the good of football”, as the organization justified in the note in which it requested this designation.

In the life of the judge In October last year he conducted his first Superclásico (River beat Boca 2 to 0 at the Bombonera), all activities related to football coexist with his work in the Air Force, to which he has been linked for 27 years: he studied Aeronautical Mechanics at the Non-Commissioned Officers School of Córdoba, from where he he graduated with the rank of corporal specializing in aeronautical mechanics; For a decade he was part of the crew of the Mirage aircraft, then served in the Ceremonial Department of the General Staff and currently serves in the Argentine Military Sports Federation.

Now he will add to all his obligations this new commitment with the Alvearense League, which organizes competitions for men’s and women’s first category teams, three youth categories (Fifth, Sixth and Seventh), children’s teams and men’s and women’s futsal.

12 clubs participated in the last first-class men’s tournament: Pacífico, Andes, Ferro, 10 de Septiembre, Argentino, Bowen, Real del Padre, Colón, Unión, Circunvalación, Libertad and Cielos Abiertos. In turn, three of them competed in the 2023/24 edition of the Federal Regional Amateur Tournament, the fourth category for clubs indirectly affiliated with the AFA. In that competition, in which 376 clubs from 23 provinces of the country participated and which is going through the final phase, Andes failed to get past the first round in the Cuyo Zone, Pacífico was eliminated in the second and Argentino, in the third. .

Merlos and the new Board of Directors will take the helm of a League that has been shaken in recent years acts of extreme violence in their men’s championship matches. In June 2022, a meeting between Bowen AND Colon had to be suspended after Colón’s supporters invaded the pitch and They will hit the referee Alexis Tudela and his assistants, Yonatan Gatica AND Tamara Silva.

In August last year, during a match in which New Gali Unionreceived the Argentine, the footballer of the local team Matias Veglia he knocked him to the ground with a punch and then kicked him twice in the head. Enzo López, of the visit, who had to be hospitalized following that attack. Two weeks after the incident, the penalty court sent off Vigil, who will no longer be able to play in league matches.

Just a few weeks later, on October 1st, in a match between Royal father AND Argentine, there was a brawl between football players followed by an invasion of fans on the pitch and clashes between these fans and Mendoza police officers which resulted in several injuries. Following the brawl, 12 players were disqualified and both teams were considered to have lost the duel. Dissatisfied with the resolution, the Argentine withdrew from the tournament.

These recurring brawls have generated a further problem for the League’s clubs: the cost of the security operations required by the Mendoza Police for each match. In July 2023, President Di Berardino stated this Alvearense football is “on alert”warned that, under these conditions, the Clausura Tournament could not take place and asked for the support of the provincial authorities to find a solution.

“The clubs do a great job supporting and including our young people. It is very hard and unfair to have to pay this money safely. These decisions will lead to the closure of the clubs.”the leader complained. After a meeting with the undersecretary for Institutional Relations of the province’s Ministry of Security, Néstor Majul, it was decided to reduce the number of agents in each match and this allowed the match to begin.

The clubs’ financial problems do not end here and, in fact, they have worsened in recent weeks. One of the first answers that Merlos will have to give as president of the League will be what will happen to your Summer Cup: It was supposed to start last Saturday, but two days before the Board of Directors, again chaired by Di Berardino, had warned that the competition would not start.

What was the reason? The “high cost presented by the arbitration body”, as the League explains in a statement. “These amounts cannot be paid to make the business sustainable,” the organization said. It will be up to Merlos to resolve this conflict with his colleagues. At home blacksmith, wooden knife.