The referee Diego Abal was dismissed in the last of the arbitration body of the AFA directed by Federico Beligoy. The decision to remove him from his position comes after the scandal that was generated as a result of a play at the end of the match between Gimnasia and Sarmiento de Junín, in La Plata, when a rude error by Abal, responsible for the VAR, deprived the Wolf of a goal that gave him the victory on the hour.
Abal, 51, referee in the elite of Argentine football since 2005 and considered by FIFA between 2008 and 2022, would have received a letter document from the AFA to communicate the news. A determination that came after several days of meetings, recriminations and disputes of all kinds in the heart of the institution presided over by Claudio Tapia.
In this way, in an almost unprecedented event, at least recent, in the history of arbitration in these latitudes, Abal will no longer be part of the team commanded by Federico Beligoy for making a mistake in a move.
The episode exposes not only the poor present of Argentine refereeing but the internal crisis that exists among those who make up that sphere of this sport at a professional level, where the arrival of VAR did nothing but feed suspicions and mistakes almost constantly, week after week.
Chiqui Tapia with Federico Beligoy and part of the refereeing in a training of the year 2020, when the VAR arrived in Argentine football.
In this case, the error of Abal and those who assisted him in the VAR was to tell Ariel Penel, referee of the match, that in the goal of Gimnasia there was an offside action after a corner kick. A very serious oversight for those who should know the regulation, it is true, but that brought unexpected consequences and that promise to have greater scope.
This week, a member of the Court of Discipline came to raise the possibility of replaying the match or giving the points to Gimnasia, something that made a lot of noise in the AFA, especially in the most conservative sector of the house based on Viamonte Street.
The AFA had decided to suspend all referees who were involved in that match for this date. In addition to Abal and Penel, Diego Carretero had also been punished – he was in the VOR booth as an AVAR; Gabriel Favale -supervisor-; attendees Ariel Scime and Diana Milone; and the fourth referee, Ramiro López. However, so far, the only one who has been fired is Abal.
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