“It was a disaster”: América captain unloads on semifinal referee
América’s semifinal exit sparked a furious response from two of its players after a pair of controversial refereeing decisions.
Club América was eliminated in the Leagues Cup semifinals amid refereeing controversy – and its players did not hold back. Henry Martín described referee Mario Alberto Escobar’s performance as “a disaster,” while Israel Reyes pointed out that the incident involving Kevin Álvarez was replayed on the stadium screens and everyone could see it was not a penalty.
Martín points the finger at Pineda: “He initiates the contact”
“It was a disaster. The refereeing today... there were two controversial plays. One came in the 12th minute, when I was fouled in the box. We’ve just watched it back on video and it’s a clear penalty. I told the referee that on the field, and I don’t understand the VAR. VAR is supposed to review these plays, but nothing happened.
“The second one was even tighter. Kevin [Álvarez] plants his foot, and we think the Monterrey player [Orbelín Pineda] is the one who initiates the contact,” said “La Bomba.”
Israel Reyes: “He gives a completely bogus penalty”
“He gives a completely bogus penalty. They show it on the screen and we all hear the entire stadium shouting that it isn’t a penalty. People say a lot that we always get favorable calls, but then there are moments like this – very clear decisions that go against us – and they have a huge effect on the game. The Refereeing Commission needs to improve considerably in that regard because we’ve been badly hurt by these decisions, first in a final and now in a semifinal,” the América defender said.
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