Magnín on Merlos in Central win: “Makes you want to quit” | OneFootball

Rosario Central’s dramatic 2-1 win over Sarmiento de Junín at the Gigante de Arroyito left the visiting team furious. After the match, corresponding to the 15th round of the Apertura Tournament, Pablo Magnín directly targeted referee Andrés Merlos and questioned the decisions made in the final stretch of the game, in which he added 12 minutes of stoppage time, a rarity in Argentine football.

“These things make you want to stop playing football. The same thing already happened to us with this referee, and now again against the friends of those in power above us (referring to Central’s ties with the AFA),” the forward fired off after the match, visibly upset about how the game ended and the added time that ultimately proved decisive.

A similar precedent involving Merlos occurred in October of last year, when he also officiated the clash between El Canalla and the team from Junín. That match ended 1-0 in favor of the Rosario side thanks to a penalty converted in the closing minutes, but it was marked by a tense incident: a local fan ran onto the pitch and grabbed the referee by the neck over the penalty decision, forcing police to intervene quickly to separate him and bring the situation under control.

It is worth mentioning that last night, the referee did not issue a red card for an attack on Diego Churín and at no point stopped the match when he was injured and bleeding. He added extra minutes beyond what was expected and, to put the finishing touch on the night, did not allow Sarmiento to take the final corner as they searched for an equalizer.

Alejo Véliz had opened the scoring for the home side near the end of the first half, while Jonathan Gómez equalized for Sarmiento in the second half. When it seemed the draw was sealed, Vicente Pizarro appeared in added time to score the winner for the Rosario team.

The controversy centered on the stoppage time. Merlos had initially awarded six minutes, but then added more time due to interruptions: first because of a blow that left Diego Churín on the ground after a collision with Gastón Ávila, and later because of another clash between Pizarro and Santiago Salle. With those additions, the match stretched to 12 minutes of stoppage time, during which Central found the goal that sealed the victory and unleashed the fury of the Junín side.

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