Anger grows in River for the referees’ failures and Gallardo returns “to raise his guard”

“Was it criminal? Well, say it into the microphone “. Before getting on the bus to return to Núñez after leaving the changing room to visit the Libertadores de América, Mattia BiscayMarcelo Gallardo’s field assistant paused for a few seconds and had that dialogue with a TV reporter who was nearby. And this scene reflects that beyond the joy of the victory against Independiente, River has remained so much anger with Fernando Rapallinithe referee of the classic which was played on Sunday in Avellaneda.

And this in the River coaching staff believe that Rapallini should have sanctioned a penalty and sent Sergio Barreto off, who punched Miguel Borja in the face and caused a cut. All the more so after the VAR called him and the referee saw through the monitor and the repetitions from different floors the attack of the Independiente defender against the Colombian.

The anger of Gallardo and company, in any case, is not due only to this specific event. It is accumulated. She had already let him know Doll in a press conference, when he reported the referees, not only for the situations in which he believes that his team has been damaged in this tournament, but also for the refereeing shortcomings in the rest of the matches.

“Some punctual things surprise me. Just as there are cameras to take if you are angry, if you laugh, the referees also have the opportunity to carefully observe the 48 thousand repetitions. Therefore, they have to be far less wrong. They have to be less wrong because they have the tools. And not just us. There were mistakes against the other teams. I understand that they bragged about a lot of training, but they are failing, and not just against me. Everyone has suffered. The error is the human eye “Gallardo said.

“For this, for this and for this”

Rapallini’s mistake in the classic is added to a series of failures that in River raises the guard. Last week against Sarmiento there were complaints about how permissive Hernán Mastrángelo was in order not to quickly reinstate Junín’s players: against Aldosivi, that Laquidaín was not sent off for a blow to Barco; against Godoy Cruz, for the red that Nicolás Lamolina took to Rodrigo Aliendro, in which they understood that the midfielder has never stepped on Juan Andrada; in Vélez’s equalizer in Liniers they claimed a previous foul on Javier Pinola and then a hand ball by Caseres; and Wanchope Ábila’s late goal against Colón in Santa Fe.

Rapallini’s decision not to charge a penalty for Barreto’s blow to Borja also widens because the same referee sent off (well) Jonatan Maidana for a blow to Matías Cóccaro on the Huracán pitch, a situation similar to that which happened in ‘Independiente stadium, even if outside the area. But the criterion adopted by the same referee was different.

The anger in River is also amplified by what happened in the Copa Libertadores, where in the return of the round of 16 against Vélez at Monumental Matías Suárez a goal was canceled due to an alleged handball that the Chilean referee Roberto Tobar has never seen, despite having reviewed the game over and over again in front of the VAR monitor, after the call from the Brazilian Rafael Traci, who that night was in charge of the referee video assistance system. But this transcends the limits of Argentine arbitration, of course.

Arbitration of the Argentine Cup, on the other hand, is the responsibility of Federico Beligoy, national referee director. Y Andrés Merlos’ task in front of Barracas Central also left doubts. In fact, Gallardo himself made them public. “Despite Merlos, we played a good match. He did not see himself as a solid referee, he was not up to the task “, he shot the doll. And a member of his coaching staff was struck by the fact that before the game, when Merlos passed into the area he was in, he lowered his head.

That’s why River will now be very attentive to the refereeing appointment for the crossing with Defense and Justice for the round of 16 of the Argentine Cup, which will be played at the end of the month in Chaco. Either way, there are situations that they think outweigh them. “Beligoy rented us”, confided an important leader to Clarin. And another manager remembered that “The only rival who apologized for a mistake was Banfield when he played against River”. This story will continue …