Ascacíbar apologises after red that hurt Boca v Barcelona SC | OneFootball

Santiago Ascacíbar was one of the main negative figures in Boca’s defeat to Barcelona SC in Ecuador. His sending-off in the first half completely changed the course of the match and, aware of that, the midfielder apologized to his teammates once the game was over. In the locker room, he was highly self-critical, took responsibility, and said he would work to make sure a situation like that does not happen again.

According to TyC Sports, the 29-year-old player spoke up behind closed doors and understood that he had left the team in a very difficult position in a key Copa Libertadores match, which is why he decided to face the issue immediately after the final whistle.

The play that led to the red card came in the 36th minute of the first half. Milton Céliz was brought down by Marcelo Weigandt and tried to challenge with his head to keep the move going. With the ball shielded by the Barcelona player’s body, Ascacíbar kicked him twice, one of them in the head. Initially, the Colombian referee had called a foul by the right back, but he was summoned by VAR, reviewed the play, and decided to send off the Boca midfielder.

Up to that point, Boca had been going toe-to-toe in Guayaquil and was pushing for a crucial win to improve its position in a Group D that had become wide open. However, being a man down forced Claudio Úbeda’s team to change its plan and ended up being decisive in the defeat, even though the home side later also had Céliz sent off.

Aside from the mistake, as happened with Adam Bareiro against Cruzeiro, the squad appreciated that Ascacíbar took responsibility right away. The midfielder is enjoying a good run of form and is an important player for the coach, so he will now try to put the episode behind him and quickly focus on the decisive stretch coming up for Boca.

Conmebol, with the help of referee Carlos Betancur’s report, opened disciplinary proceedings over the Boca player’s sending-off. Given the straight red card and the seriousness of the incident, it is very likely that Ascacíbar will receive at least a two-match suspension and therefore miss the remainder of the group stage. In addition, the Estudiantes academy product will have to pay a $1,500 fine. At La Ribera they are already aware of the situation, even though the ruling is not yet final.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.