Could Club América lose to Pumas for fielding an ineligible player? | OneFootball

The first leg between América and Pumas at the Estadio Azteca ended in a 3-3 draw in an intense clash worthy of the playoffs.

Las Águilas controlled most of the match, but individual mistakes kept them from taking the win, and now they will have to look for a victory at Olímpico Universitario to qualify for the semifinals.

But after the match ended, a situation that nobody expected took place. Several outlets reported that Pumas will file a complaint over a possible ineligible lineup by América because of a substitution that was made.

What happened?

It was in the 63rd minute when André Jardine decided to make three substitutions, his main idea being to bring on Thiago Espinosa, Raphael Veiga, and Henry Martín for Alexis Gutiérrez, Patricio Salas, and Miguel Vázquez, with the latter being at the center of the controversy.

Vázquez ran to leave the field, but at that moment he was stopped by América’s coaching staff, since Sebastián Cáceres had just left the field because of a concussion, so at the last moment they decided that Cáceres, not Vázquez, would come off.

But Pumas’ complaint is that Vázquez left the field and that therefore the substitution had already been made.

Will América lose for fielding an ineligible lineup?

It is true that Pumas has grounds to complain, since the substitution was indeed signaled by the referees, but those same referees realized Cáceres’ situation, which is why they allowed them to change that substitution.

The referee’s report even lists Thiago Espinosa coming on for Sebastián Cáceres, so América will rely on that to argue that there was no ineligible lineup.

And this would be the most normal outcome: the refereeing commission will go by what was reported by the officiating crew, and at most there will be a financial penalty for a procedural mistake on their part.

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