The South American Confederation has appointed Wilton Sampaio as the main judge of the clash between Chile and the Rimac team. In this way, the body chaired by Alejandro Domínguez ignores the complaints of the ANFP after the Copa América, where they protested against the accusations and targeted, among other whistles, the Brazilian.
Conmebol has appointed Wilton Sampaio as referee for the duel between Peru and Chile, which will be played on November 15 in Lima. This will be the judge’s first face-to-face with La Roja after the Copa América. The whistler had been mentioned by the ANFP in the letter they sent to the South American Confederation due to the accusations that harmed the national team in the continental competition. “He was extremely permissive with the rival team, thus leaving a series of obvious mistakes unpunished,” says the report drawn up by the Chilean Football Federation on June 29. That day, the main arrows were aimed at the Colombian Wilmar Roldán. But the Brazilian was also one of those targeted. The note, addressed to Enrique Cáceres, president of the Referees Commission, contained allusions to the matches against Argentina, the two-color team and Canada.
In this way, the board of directors of Alejandro Domínguez ignores the complaints arising from the entity chaired by Pablo Milad. On this occasion, the helmsman of Chilean football defended the position he holds within Conmebol. Where he also retains his position as vice-president. “Are you talking about weight… are you talking about juggling, fishy things? I have a presence, I claim. Here it’s not a question of weight, but of presence, that things improve seamlessly. Here it is not about more or less weight, but about doing things right,” said the Curican on this occasion. “The respect is there, I must analyze it more deeply in a situation of helplessness that we are experiencing today, and of deep sadness. This is why I don’t like to speak when there are extreme and emotional situations, because he says things that we regret and he doesn’t say them coldly,” he added. .
That day, the manager also suggested that he did not rule out that the bad refereeing was something planned. “It is a time of helplessness, frustration and deep sadness. I don’t want to think that there is a conspiracy to exclude Chile. But there were refereeing errors which conditioned the results,” he said.
Later, in dialogue with The sportsman the former mayor insisted on his position and explained why he remains vice-president of Conmebol despite the friction with Chile. “First of all, I am at Conmebol to be present. They didn’t appoint me because I asked, but because they appreciated the work we did. This is why I was offered the third vice-presidency, even though I have only been there for a year. I think that respect for football, the weight, is also given by the results in the national team, by sports. Today, Argentina has weight in football, it is world champion. And the specific weight of a person as a leader lies in his participation. Here it’s not about having more or less weight, it’s about having presence. Let them think about it. The relationship we have with FIFA… Winning a U-20 World Cup is no less important. Nine federations applied. It was not a consolation prize as some people said. And I want to be clear: many have said that I am not resigning from Conmebol because I receive compensation for being vice president… the compensation for being vice president is zero and this can be verified. I say it publicly. The only regime is that of the President of the Federation, minus VAT and 40% of Chilean taxes,” he stressed.
The controversial Sampaio
Wilton Sampaio, 42, is from Teresina Goiás and made his professional debut at the Brasileirao in 2009. It took him four years to become a FIFA referee and since then he has been a protagonist in various contexts. He even coached at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He also has qualifying, Copa Libertadores and Copa América matches under his belt. Despite his credentials, he is a referee who is usually at the center of controversy. Once publicly criticized by Lionel Messi. “Difficult game, difficult to play. Lots of wind, everyone behind, leaving few spaces. The referee always does the same thing when he directs us, it seems like he does it on purpose. But hey, three important points that bring us closer to the goal,” said the trans-Andean after a match between Argentina and Peru.
They both have another history together. In 2017, Messi allegedly insulted the judge during a duel at the Monumental stadium against La Roja. The striker was suspended for four dates, but after an appeal by the AFA, the sanction was overturned.
Plus, he has a controversial moment with Edson Puch. When Iquiqueño was a member of UC, Sampaio showed him a red card during a duel against Argentinos Juniors, for the Copa Libertadores. Despite the students’ victory, the striker was unhappy with the expulsion and attacked the referee. “The two cards were an invention of the referee (…) At the first yellow card I put myself in front of the ball so that it does not play quickly and he grabs me by the neck, I take out my hand and he give me a card”, declared the former national team player on this occasion.
Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
