Author: Soorya G
In a tumultuous match that will surely be remembered for an injury incident, Fluminense coach Fernando Diniz vehemently disagreed with Marcelo’s sending off in the draw at 1-1 against Argentinos Juniors-ARGin the first leg of the Copa Libertadores round of 16 on Tuesday in Buenos Aires. According to the coach, who was furious with the result, the decision made by the video assistant was “absurd”.
The incident in question was visually shocking, as the five-time Champions League winner tried to dribble past Luciano Sánchez and, in doing so, accidentally stepped violently on his opponent’s leg, causing an apparent fracture. Reviewing the VAR images, Marcelo was overcome with guilt, shed tears on the spot and didn’t contest the red card.
“For me, Marcelo’s expulsion is absolutely absurd, total madness. What could Marcelo have done? I’ll use a metaphor. For me, it’s like when someone crosses the road at a green light, and the driver is at fault. Marcelo was dribbling and had nowhere to put his foot.“
Diniz also said that the incident made everyone sad, but reiterated that the left-back had unintentionally stepped on his colleague’s foot while trying to put his own foot down.
“Everyone is sad about what happened to the player. That’s one thing. The second thing is that the expulsion was absolutely wrong. Especially considering Marcelo’s reaction. There was no intention. Marcelo had nowhere to put his foot. How can he be expelled? No one kicked anyone. It was absolutely to spoil the game. I can’t accept Marcelo’s expulsion” he said.
The coach also criticized the Chilean referee, Piero Gomez Maza, especially in the closing stages of the second half. In addition to Marcelo’s sending off, Argentinos Juniors goalkeeper Arias was also sent off, causing another delay in the match. Diniz went further and explained the inconsistencies with which the referees acted in the game, citing the example of the added time at the end of the match.
The coach said that the decision to send off Marcelo took about five minutes, and the sending off of the Argentinian goalkeeper a few minutes later took about the same amount of time. Despite this, the referee decided to allow only eight minutes of stoppage time, even though it is common practice to add more than ten minutes, something Diniz didn’t like.