Refereeing scandal deepens at Argentina’s football association

Nicolás Russo’s phone call to Claudio Tapia came almost at dawn on Saturday, after a refereeing decision enraged the Lanús president. Germán Delfino had not summoned Pablo Dóvalo from VAR to review a yellow card shown to Leonel Flores for a heavy tackle on Sasha Marcich that, in Russo’s view, deserved a red card.

Tapia, the AFA president, promised Russo, “I promise you, I’ll stop him.” Russo also contacted Federico Beligoy, who heads the National Refereeing Directorate, and received the same answer. He appeared reassured when the appointments for the eighth round of the Clausura Tournament were announced.

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I promise you, I’ll stop him.

Then he learned that Delfino had flown to Riyadh to referee a Saudi league match. Russo exploded. “Not only did they not stop him, they rewarded him and sent him to Saudi Arabia to referee. This has happened several times. I always handled it privately, but clearly I have to make it public. I have to go into the dressing room and speak to the players, who gave everything, and they must think they take me for a fool. I live four blocks from the stadium, I walk the streets, and the fans look at me as if to say we do not make the club respected,” he said on radio station La Red.

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Not only did they not stop him, they rewarded him and sent him to Saudi Arabia to referee. This has happened several times. I always handled it privately, but clearly I have to make it public. I have to go into the dressing room and speak to the players, who gave everything, and they must think they take me for a fool. I live four blocks from the stadium, I walk the streets, and the fans look at me as if to say we do not make the club respected.

Russo also called for a change at the top of the refereeing structure, saying Beligoy had completed his cycle after many years in charge. He cited repeated assignments involving referee Nazareno Arasa, including a Copa Argentina defeat to Instituto and another match against the same opponent in the current tournament.

Arasa and VAR official Diego Ceballos had recently been stood down after an incident involving Vélez and Riestra, when a goal by Manuel Lanzini was disallowed following a review of a foul that the article describes as nonexistent. The episode, along with disputed penalty reviews in other matches, has fueled a weekend of tension between referees seen as obedient and those viewed as rebellious.

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Beligoy has completed his cycle, he has been in charge of the national directorate for many years, but there needs to be a change.