Fernando Espinoza explains Fascendini’s sending off | OneFootball

Unión's defeat against Lanús in the second round of the 2026 Apertura Tournament was marked by the expulsion of Valentín Fascendini at the end of the first half, a decision that came after the intervention of the VAR and ultimately influenced the development of the match.

The incident occurred at 42 minutes into the first half, following a long ball aimed at Rodrigo Castillo. In the clash, Fascendini brought down the Lanús forward as he advanced in attack. Initially, Fernando Espinoza called offside, but after the VAR's call, he reviewed the action and changed his decision, showing the red card to the Unión defender for considering it a clear goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO).

After the match, the referee publicly explained the reasons for his decision. “It's a clear goal-scoring opportunity play where we have a possible offside that I analyzed. When the lines are drawn, there is no offside, so we have to interpret the DOGSO”, Espinoza stated.

In his explanation, the referee highlighted the criteria he considered for sanctioning the expulsion: “The interpretation is that I have the defense stopped with a forward in speed. I have the four considerations to expel him. Since there is no offside, we end up with a clear goal-scoring situation”. He also clarified that the distance to the goal was not a mitigating factor: “The distance doesn't matter because he's moving at speed, and speed shortens with the forward already launched.”

He also emphasized the position of the defenders: “When I observe the play, I have the forward launched at speed and the defenders with their backs to their own goal, which always favors the forward”, he concluded, thus justifying the disciplinary sanction.

The expulsion left Unión with ten players for more than 50 minutes and changed the course of a match that until that moment was evenly matched. Lanús took advantage of the numerical superiority and managed to gain an advantage before the break, in a refereeing decision that was decisive in the final result.

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