Libertadores: Colombian ref for Flamengo v Estudiantes, Vini Jr link | OneFootball

Andrés Rojas has already refereed four Flamengo matches in his career

The South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) announced, on the evening of this Friday (12th), the refereeing team for the Flamengo match against Estudiantes (ARG), on Thursday (18th), at Maracanã. The quarterfinal clash of the Copa Libertadores da América will be refereed by Andrés Rojas, from Colombia. Of the three matches with the ‘man with the whistle’ in Rio de Janeiro, the Most Beloved has a 100% success rate. Fun fact: the official was present for the match in which Vini Jr scored his first goal wearing the Manto.

WHICH FLAMENGO MATCHES HAS ROJAS REFEREED?

One of the matches took place in 2025, during the group stage of the Libertadores. In summary, Andrés Rojas refereed Flamengo’s 2-0 win over LDU, in the penultimate round of the group stage. On that occasion, Filipe Luís’ team found the net with goals from Léo Ortiz and Luiz Araújo, at Maracanã.

WHO WILL BE THE VIDEO REFEREE?

In addition to Andrés Rojas, Conmebol also announced who will be in charge of VAR for the match: it will be fellow Colombian Nicolas Gallo. Whoever advances between Flamengo and Estudiantes will face Vélez Sarsfield (ARG) or Racing (ARG), which will have a Brazilian duo in charge: Wilton Pereira Sampaio (main referee) and Rodolpho Toski (VAR).

GOOD MEMORIES FOR VINI JR?

If Flamengo’s record with Andrés Rojas is positive, the Colombian also brings good memories for Vini Jr. After all, the referee officiated Mengão’s 5-0 thrashing of Palestino in the 2017 Copa Sudamericana, at Estádio Luso-Brasileiro, which at the time was called Ilha do Urubu.

Near the end of the second half, Vini Jr received a pass from Orlando Berrío and sent it to the back of the net. In a recent interview with Real Madrid’s (ESP) social media, the striker recalled the match against Palestino and joked about who the opponent was for his first professional goal.

WHEN IS FLAMENGO VS ESTUDIANTES?

Thus, with Andrés Rojas in charge, Flamengo will host Estudiantes starting at 9:30 PM (Brasília time) next Thursday (18th). Therefore, the match will be broadcast on ESPN, on cable TV, as well as on the Disney Plus streaming service. However, Coluna do Fla provides the best coverage in Brazil, on their website, social media, and on YouTube.

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