The unusual football of the Argentine promotion: a linesman scores a phantom goal, the president enters the pitch and the referee changes his decision

The promotion tournaments of Argentine football could easily be a book by Roberto Fontanarrosa. Every week they leave some situation that goes viral and not just because they stand out in sport. This Saturday, the duel between Ituzaingó AND Yupanqui for the fifth appointment of First C he left a completely unusual sequence: a linesman scored a ‘phantom goal’, the injured club president entered the pitch and the referee – who had first validated it – withdrew after several minutes of deliberation.. The match ended 0-0.

In the 13th minute of the second half, at the Carlos Alberto Sacaan stadium, a cross into the area by the Villa Lugano team sparked controversy: first because the entire local team had asked for a penalty for catching, but the worst came when the linesman Luciano Cabral He he raised his flag and ran towards the center of the pitch, signaling a ‘phantom goal’.

The fact is that the ball had clearly been cleared by a Yupanqui defender when it was one meter from the left post of the goal, where it had arrived pushed by a header from a teammate, which had gone past the goalkeeper. Amid the surprise of all the players at that signal, referee Mariano Seco marked the center of the field and blew his whistle.

Ituzaingó’s substitutes, who were warming up behind linesman Cabral, were the first to notice the goal and started celebrating. The León fans joined them with a shout that was heard during the broadcast of the party “The Voice of the Lion”.

Obviously the reaction of the Yupanqui players and coaching staff was immediate against the referee and linesman, who seemed immutable in his decision. At a certain point, coach Facundo Ledesma began to call his players one by one, spoke in their ears and began to take them towards the tunnel, as if he had received instructions to leave the field. The goalkeeper also took his gloves off his hands.

Five minutes had already passed since that unusual episode occurred and a new actor appeared on the scene. Dante Majorthe president of Yupanqui and the First C executive committee, went onto the pitch – which is prohibited by AFA regulations – and tried to speak to the refereeing team.

What followed was a summit between the refereeing body and, almost 15 minutes after the action, the principal Mariano Seco decided to rectify the decision and hit the ground inside the Yupanqui area as if nothing had happened: not even the ‘goal’ . nor the possible penalty for Ituzaingó.

“It’s nonsense. He scored a goal, then he didn’t score it, if he didn’t score it it was an obvious penalty because he pushed it from behind. Honestly, it’s embarrassing”said Leonel Córdoba, one of Ituzaingó’s players.