The controversy in the Forest, for the goal annulled to Gimnasia against Sarmiento at the request of the VAR, did not end with the final whistle of Ariel Penel. As the referee left the stadium, he had a cross with journalists and issued a warning: "Be careful what you say."
The dialogue with the reporters of ESPN and TyC Sports took place without major problems on the way from the exit of the Juan Carmelo Zerillo Stadium to the parking lot, where a black car was waiting for Penel.
"We made a mistake, we made a mistake, but we do not come to harm anyone," the judge said, according to the Telam agency.
He added: "We apologize to the president (Mariano Cowen) and (Sebastian) Romero, I know it is not enough for them but nobody does it on purpose. I insist nobody wants to harm any team, we admit our mistake and you can not go back. "
"The result is already there and cannot be changed. We received a communication from the VAR and being an offside play we can not go to review it, "he excused.
In the Forest it was also learned that Diego Abal, the head of the VAR, sent a message to the referee in which he said "Sorry, I was wrong", something that coach Sebastian Romero commented in the post-match conference.
At Abal's urging, Penel cancelled out a goal he had previously validated. The referee was warned that there was offside of Alan Lescano in the exit of the corner, incurring a clear error of interpretation of the regulations.
Penel's anger
When asked about the reactions of those affected, he argued: "The players more than ten, the players and the coaching staff." "No one comes to harm anyone, let it be clear," he stressed.
Then, a person who is not seen in the video that ESPN uploaded to its social networks made an inaudible comment to Penel.
The referee reacted by asking someone to run to see the face of his interlocutor and snapped: "Eye, watch what you say. Watch what you say. Because I am behaving respectfully. I'm serious. Be careful."
The play of the controversy and what the regulation says
The controversial play occurred in the 42nd minute of the second half. After a cross from the right by Bautista Barros Schelotto, Ivo Mammini deflected the ball into the first post and Felipe Sánchez touched the net.
Nothing seemed to be able to deprive Gimnasia of the shout, but after a long conciliabulum between those responsible for the VAR, referee Ariel Penel annulled the maneuver for an alleged advanced position, apparently of Alan Lescano at the beginning of the maneuver. But the midfielder had received the ball from Antonio Napolitano at the exit of a corner.
In that sense, the regulation is very clear. "There will be no offside infraction if the player receives the ball directly from a corner kick," establishes rule 11, so the maneuver had to be validated. It was not like that and, therefore, the platense team was deprived of victory.
"He (Penel) acknowledged his mistake, but now that's it, let Costiria (sic) take it out of you. We have no choice but to go home with the feeling of anger for not having been able to win the three points. We can no longer do anything but look forward and think about the next game," Sebastian Romero lamented at the post-match press conference.
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