The Santos club is not the only Brazilian club to fall victim to dubious refereeing work against Boca Juniors. We present other cases
Santos left La Bombonera furious at the work of Chilean referee Roberto Tobar, who ignored Izquierdoz’s alleged penalty kick on Marinho. But Santos FC is not alone in this complaint. There have been at least six other cases where Brazilian clubs have complained of “theft” in duels against Boca Juniors.
Palmeiras is the one who ‘leads’ this curious ranking. There were two things that irritated the fans and especially the players who competed in the duels for the Libertadores in 2000 and 2001.
In the first case, they lost the title to Boca, in Morumbí, in a match where there were two penalties for the alviverde team. In the second, a two-goal draw on the Bombonera, there was a questionable penalty in favor of the Argentines and a non-scoring penalty for the Palmeirenses.
This long list highlights a case that occurred in 2013, the year in which Boca Juniors eliminated Corinthians in the round of 16.
The Paraguayan Arbitration Carlos Amarilla in Pacaembu was highly questioned, with two canceled goals from the Alvinegro team and two clear penalties without scoring.
Two years after the game, an audio was leaked featuring Julio Grondona, the then president of the Argentine Football Association, discussed the election of the judge with Abel Gnecco, representative of the AFA in the Conmebol Arbitration Commission.
“I was talking to Alarcón and he said to me, ‘Are you looking for Amarilla in Argentina?'”, Gnecco tells Grondona, who replies: ‘Listen, if you don’t know, I will. Put it on and don’t bother me. Alarcón, put on Amarilla and stop fucking me. ‘
Returning to last Wednesday’s match, Santos left La Bombonera and filed a formal complaint with Conmebol about Chilean Rooberto Tobar’s arbitration work.
Regarding the alleged violation, former Disney sports channel referee and commentator Carlos Eugenio Simón said, “The protocol stipulates that the referee will see the piece. I am curious about the audio from the VAR room.”
Conmebol released the audio this Thursday (7), in which the referees rate it as “normal play” and say that Marinho threw himself on the grass after Izquierdoz’s contact. Nevertheless, Santos will formalize the complaint.
WHEN THE ARBITRATION WAS “GOOD” FOR BOCA
2020 – Boca Juniors 0-0 Santos [semifinal]
Chilean Roberto Tobar could have scored a penalty from Carlos Izquierdoz on Marinho, who was knocked down by the Argentinian in the area. But in the end he followed the VAR guidelines. Without revising the piece, nothing was noticed. It was the first match of the semifinals.
2018 – Boca Juniors 2-0 Cruzeiro [cuartos de final]
Paraguayan Eber Aquino sent Dedé away after an accidental collision between defender and goalkeeper Andrada. The piece has been discussed in the VAR. In the series, Boca moved forward.
2013 – Corinthians 1 – 1 Boca Juniors [octavos de final]
Paraguayan Carlos Amarilla destroyed two legitimate goals (Romarinho and Paulinho) and ignored two clear penalties in favor of Corinthians. In 2015, a telephone recording was released in which the then president of the Argentine Football Association Julio Grondona claimed to have participated in the election of the referee.
2012 – Boca Juniors 1-0 Fluminense [cuartos de final]
Colombian José Hernando Buitrago ignored Clemente Rodríguez’s elbow on Marcos Júnior; he dismissed Carlinhos on a disputed play and ignored Roncaglia’s hand in the area. In the series, Boca moved forward.
2007 – Boca Juniors 3-0 Guild [final]
Uruguayan Jorge Larrionda validated Boca’s first goal despite the fact that Riquelme and Palacio were out of place. Union members also complained about Sandro Goiano’s expulsion in the 12th minute of the second half. Then he conceded two more goals. Boca became champion in the second race, in Porto Alegre.
2001 – Boca Juniors 2-2 Palmeiras [semifinal]
Paraguayan Ubaldo Aquino scored a dubious penalty in favor of Boca and ignored a clear penalty in favor of Palmeiras. Boca came forward.
2000 – Palmeiras 0-0 Boca Juniors [final]
Paraguayan Epifanio González ignored two penalties in Morumbí, which held the score and decided the title from eleven steps. Boca was crowned champion.