Controversy at 15 de Abril: Unión protest a foul before Boca’s equaliser | OneFootball

The 1-1 draw between Unión and Boca in the 11th round of the Torneo Apertura was not without controversy. The focus of the conflict centered on the play leading up to Miguel Merentiel’s goal, where the home team claimed a foul that was neither called by the main referee nor reviewed by technology.

The play in question

Before Xeneize managed to press into the box for the equalizer, there was contact between Lautaro Blanco and Julián Palacios. According to the complaints from Unión’s coaching staff and players, Boca’s fullback brought down the “Tatengue” midfielder at the start of the attacking move.

However, referee Yael Falcón Pérez let the play continue, which seconds later ended with Bareiro’s bicycle kick hitting the post and Merentiel’s subsequent shot finding the net.

The role of VAR

The controversy grew due to the lack of intervention from the Ezeiza booth. Lucas Novelli, in charge of VAR, and Nelson Sosa (AVAR), did not alert the main referee to the possible foul, considering that there was no clear and obvious error or that the contact was not enough to disallow the goal.

With this decision, the goal was validated, sparking protests from the entire stadium in Santa Fe, who believed the play was tainted by that initial foul on Palacios.

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