Five answers that explain why so much controversy with arbitrations, VAR and the leaders of League 1

For this reason, in the midst of the various questions that have been raised, we answer some key questions that arise in the Betsson 1 League about arbitration and the use of VAR, a tool that has left some referees with low performance exposed or that reveals how there are different decisions for similar plays like stomps and penalty fouls.

VAR has barely been in the Betsson 1 League for a couple of months, but referees have been training for its use since the end of last year. It was expected that it could be established in the Opening, but it only started with the Closing. “The Federation brought the VAR to help Peruvian soccer and this is date to date. It is a process that must be tolerated. We know that we have to continue correcting ”, Víctor Hugo Carrillo, Chief VAR instructor in the Betsson League 1, assured RPP yesterday.

What happened at Cristal-Muni?

It was the game of the weekend. A Municipal colero from the clausura faced the tournament leader Sporting Cristal and the game was defined at the last minute, with a penalty on Yotún, which he himself changed for a goal.

But the controversy arose in minute 48, when in a divided play, Yotún hit Benjamín Ampuero with the chimpún. The referee Sebastián Lozano charged the foul, but he did not even admonish the sky-blue nor did he receive the call from the VAR -which was in charge of César García-, despite the claims of the mayors.

“There are things that the referee should have charged or reviewed, but that’s football,” said Aldo Olcese, today president of the strip team for the situations that occurred, since they also claimed for the penalty in the last play, the which defines the result.

Meanwhile, the Rimenses claimed for a disallowed goal in the first half, when Gianfranco Chávez scored in a play in which Washington Corozo was off side, but did not directly participate in the play. Lozano and the VAR considered that Corozo prevents the mayor’s defender from moving, which is why they cancel the play.

What does Conar say?

Given the controversy that arose, this Monday, the Referees Commission (Conar) released a video in which it explains what happened in the specific play of Yoshimar Yotún on Benjamín Ampuero. A clip of exactly one minute where he makes it clear that the play was a “high intensity tackle… endangering the physical integrity of the adversary”, is heard in the explanation.

For Conar, the play could have ended in an expulsion due to the seriousness of the tackle. “This action, having elements of a red card, should have been better evaluated by the VAR to call the referee for a field review,” it is mentioned in the video.

However, for Sebastián Lozano it was a simple foul and for the VAR referee César García he did not have the forcefulness to call the main judge to review the play.

“You have to admit that Yotún should have been expelled. The court referee did not have a good angle, a good position to make a decision to show the red card”, declared Henry Gambetta, Chief Instructor of Referees and VAR Referees at the FPF. “At the VAR level, they also did not have that fine analysis to determine that it was an action for a red card.”

What other controversies have occurred in recent times?

The VAR has had a lot of work since Betsson arrived in Liga 1, precisely for the Closing Tournament. But only in the last week there were several plays that Conar had to go out to clarify to avoid further criticism.

One of them was the disallowed goal for Alex Valera from Universitario against ADT. The attacker blocked goalkeeper Barrios’s serve and picked up the ball to score the goal. “Rule 12 – Indirect free kick, attacking player prevents the goalkeeper from putting the ball into play”, says the Referees Commission.

In that same match, the creams scored via Rivera, but the goal was annulled due to a foul at the beginning of the play by Williams Riveros. “Rule 10 – The goal will be valid as long as the team that scored the goal has not previously committed a foul or infringement of the Laws of the Game,” reported Conar.

In the same match between Cristal and Municipal on Sunday, a goal by the sky-blues was annulled and for Conar, Corozo hinders the movement of the mayor’s defender who was looking for the ball. “Rule 11-Interfering with an opponent preventing him from playing the ball”, sustained Conar.

Those have been the last plays that Conar has had to go out to answer through explanatory videos. He had already done something similar before with a penalty against Melgar, the expulsion of Yotún at the start of the tournament and an unsanctioned penalty against Mannucci against the rimenses.

Why does Conar go out to explain some controversies?

There are already several explanatory videos that Conar has made public about some arbitration decisions. She started it last year but stopped doing it for a while. With the use of VAR, they have done it again.

The president of Conar, Carmen Retuerto, explained in an interview with El Comercio the reasons that led to resuming these actions. “We have coordinated it with the arbitration department to, in order to clarify the different situations based on the rules of the game, publish videos not only of the good things, but also of the errors. We are going to resume this job of publishing the videos of the different situations to clarify and that people are convinced that a good or bad decision was made. Not only will the good plays be published, the controversial plays will be clarified based on the regulations, ”she told us.

For this reason, each submission made to the video press and its publications on social networks come with a description of the rule of the game on which the decision is based or the one that they should have taken into account, when it comes to mistakes.

Is it possible to bring foreign referees?

Faced with some controversies, the administrator of Universitario Jean Ferrari has made public his annoyance and his wish that foreign shortlists come to Peruvian soccer. He did it when he lost to Alianza Atlético in the Apertura and repeated the speech after the loss against ADT -after the two annulled goals-.

Bringing foreign referees would generate a cost to the club that requested it, however, the FPF always thought of having Peruvian referees. “Every club has the power to request a foreign shortlist. We don’t see it, the League, which organizes the tournament, sees it directly”, explained Víctor Hugo Carrillo, Chief VAR instructor in Liga 1 Betsson.

Already in May, the FPF denied Universitario the request to have foreign referees when Jean Ferrari requested it for his match against the César Vallejo University for the Apertura. At that time, El Comercio was able to learn that all the referees were already active in their respective countries, which is why it was not possible.

The request generated a response in Alianza Lima. “Peruvians should be trained and perfected, why bring foreigners but each one thinks what he wants. We have also been harmed several times, I think it happens to everyone. We are not going to think that there is bad faith”, declared the attacker Hernán Barcos.

As Carmen Retuerto herself told us, the universe of referees in Peru is not that wide and today there are only 36 referees who can act with the VAR system, and who work week by week to improve their performance.

“There was a club that requested foreign referees and that is worrying for us. They are physically well-prepared referees, they train from Monday to Thursday, they have weekly technical training. Yes, they are prepared”, the president of Conar told us in a recent interview.

Thus, the VAR has been acting in the 1st League, with controversies that stand out, but also with plays that are ‘saving’ results, such as goals disallowed due to offside or penalties that were not appreciated at first sight.

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