River did not have the debut it expected in the Copa Libertadores. The game was marked by a controversial move, with Franco Armani, the referee Jesús Valenzuela and the VAR as protagonists.
For the first date of group D, Demichelis’s team went out to play at the height of La Paz (3,600 meters) against The Strongest. He fell 3-1.
The mythical Hernando Siles stadium was the scene of the contest.
After about 15 suffocating initial minutes of the visit, in which he attacked and was about to score the first, an isolated counter from the aurinegro led to the penalty play what it meant 1-0 for the locals.
Armani’s penalty: the VAR audio
In the 21st minute of the first half, the world champion goalkeeper with the Argentine National Team came out a bit late to cut a deep ball for Enrique Triverio and in his eagerness to bother the ex-Union and Racing striker, he seemed to brush the knee of the player with his leg. his rival.
The question that arose in networks: was it criminal? There are voices for and against.
The Venezuelan referee Jesús Valenzuela did not hesitate and charged the infraction. The VAR coincided with Valenzuela.
Hours after the match, the VAR audio was released (something that the Argentine League refuses to publish) and there you can see what the referee and his assistants said: first they confirmed Armani’s touch and then they determined if Triverio was enabled or offside at the time of his teammate’s pass to end up confirming the penalty.
“Give it this one. Let’s go first to the possible penalty. Hit this one, slow, slow. Come on, let her run now. Perfect, Jesus, we hear you, we are reviewing the situation. Look, the first contact. It is clear, it is clear, penalty confirmed, we are going to see the possible offside”, the VAR and AVAR referees commented first from the cabin.
After throwing out the famous lines and confirming that Triverio was in a legal position, Valenzuela received official confirmation: “Jesus, do you copy me? Confirmed penalty”.
The great controversy of the debut in Bolivia: was there an Armani penalty against The Strongest? This is how the play was seen from the eye of #SportsCenter! pic.twitter.com/biGGAEFaFO
— SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) April 5, 2023
The Valenzuela and Armani discussion
While all this was happening, Valenzuela was arguing with Armani: “Don’t argue, Armani! Don’t say that!” the Venezuelan referee is heard saying. But the 1 did not come to his senses, claiming what for him was an injustice: “What did I touch it with, let’s see? What penalty do you charge? ”, He insisted.
“Alright, ready, please, ready! Armani, Armani, they’re checking! Do you want me to warn you? Come on, brother, they’re checking, they’re checking, come on! Brother, come on, come on, calm down, they’re checking, gentlemen! Armani please, but come on! I have to do the procedure, I have to do the same procedure!” Valenzuela shouts, trying to bring order to the River area.
Armani sought to convince the referee: “But if I stay like this and he comes looking for me!”. It was the closing of the controversy, with the final verdict of Valenzuela: “The penalty is confirmed for me, that’s it, don’t invade the area, they already told me that it’s confirmed.”
Triverio scored 1-0 and the game turned 180 degrees in favor of The Strongest. The final result: 3-1.