At the end of the first half of the duel against Cacique, the River Plate coach waited for Claudio Ríos at the entrance to the locker room to pass the accounts. The Doll does not forget that the Chileans were responsible for the controversial arbitration which eliminated their group against Vélez Sarsfield, for the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores.
Marcelo Gallardo experienced one of his last engagements as River Plate coach. The Doll, who announced a few weeks ago that he will not be renewing in the Millionaire box, traveled to Sausalito Stadium to take on Colo Colo, as part of a friendly tour that will also pit him against Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis.
The approximately 20,000 supporters who arrived in Viña del Mar, mainly supporters of the Cacique, recognized the achievements of the coach who leaves River. They applauded him when he entered the field of play, in recognition of his successful stint in the Buenos Aires team. In the former team of Marcelo Salas, he won seven national titles (a First Division Championship, three Argentine Cups, two Argentine Super Cups and a Champions Trophy). At international level, he won seven other titles (two Copa Libertadores, one Copa Sudamericana, three Recopas Sudamericanas and one Suruga Bank).
On the Sausalito court, however, Gallardo didn’t seem to be enjoying the game. He looked dazed, with an annoyed face. River Plate won comfortably 2-0 and even the lead didn’t make them let up. His discomfort, which was manifested by gestures touching his face, was accentuated when the Cacique took the advantage (3-2) in just five minutes. The duel at that time already had a strong leg. Friendly, little or nothing.
Once the first half was over, Marcelo Gallardo left the pitch very upset. At that time, many thought the DT was overwhelmed by Emiliano Amor’s obvious forward position, which the assistant judge rejected, in the annotation that allowed the Cacique to tie.
Gallardo, however, didn’t go straight to the dressing room at River Plate. He waited with part of his technical staff on a staircase that connects the field to the locker rooms. He waited about five minutes. He watched out of the corner of his eye, sometimes leaning over to see who was coming from the field. The players of the Cacique and his troop passed, without taking too much care of him. Jaime Pizarro, the former footballer, was walking around asking about his son, Vicente, who a few minutes earlier had suffered a knee injury.
The River Plate coach, however, fixed his gaze as the match judges approached the stairs leading to the changing rooms. Seeing Claudio Ríos, Roberto Tobar’s linesman, the Doll lost his temper.
It’s that according to information gathered by El Deportivo Gallardo did not wait for the referees to question any play in the duel against Colo Colo. The coach wanted to answer to the linesman, who was the same who played a key role in the controversial elimination against Vélez Sarsfield, in July this year, in the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores. His darts aimed directly at him, while Tobar waited. “It’s dangerous that there are professionals like you”, “you’re supposed to be a professional” were some of the reproaches of the trans-Andean. The linesman did not react and just listened carefully to the strategist, according to the technical staff members of both teams who were present.
Gallardo does not forget the painful and controversial elimination against Vélez Sarsfield. The commitment had the arbitration of the Chilean Robert Tobar who canceled out a goal by Matías Suárez by indication of Claudio Ríos, in the final straight of the second half, in a score that sent the definition of the series to penalties.
The striker won the position from defender Francisco Ortega and connected with his header to unleash the madness in the Monumental stadium. Yet, when millionaire supporters were already thinking of a second goal that would qualify them directly, Roberto Tobar’s earpiece rang. VAR warned the Chilean referee about a handball from Suárez after the header . In about five minutes of deliberation the judge looked at footage from different angles and even frozen shots, and finally resolved with the cancellation of the River Plate goal.
The day after the match, Conmebol revealed the VAR audios of the controversial piece. In these dialogues, Tobar assured that he did not consider it a handball, that the goal seemed valid to him, in addition to insisting that he does not see where the ball hits. For his part, the AVAR Brazilian Braulio da Silva Machado I repeated that “the ball deflects into the player’s arm ”. Faced with such a scenario, the court judge asked for help from his assistant Claudio Rios the same who was reprimanded by Gallardo in Sausalito, as the protocols indicate when he has doubts, and the latter ratified the hand of the striker from River Plate.
Gallardo, on this occasion, did not hide his annoyance. “I don’t have much left to say because I can’t think of anything else today we have been wronged by this game, by this failure which cannot be seen, there is no clarity, ”said the DT.
His review continued: “How little criteria there is, by dint of stopping, reviewing so many reviews, cutting so many, ends up hurting football because so little is played”, he added. “Today it was us who needed the time, but tomorrow it happens to someone else. Not having criteria to deal with these issues ends up hurting the spirit of football.” concluded the DT who took advantage of the reunion in Viña del Mar to pass the account.
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Source: Latercera
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
