Izquierdoz: “The referee told me several times that he was going to charge him a penalty and he ended up doing it”

Lanus equaled 2-2 in view of University of Chilewho tied in the last play with a controversial penalty, for the first leg of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana semifinals. It is so Carlos Izquierdozexpressed his anger, harshly questioned the refereeing and revealed an unusual phrase from the judge during the match.

Grana was very close to taking a key victory from Santiago, but a penalty taken in stoppage time allowed the Blues to tie the score at 2-2. Thus, the captain of the Argentine team did not hide his discomfort at the referee’s decision and denounced a strange attitude from the main judge. “Since the second half started the referee had been telling me that he was going to charge ’30’ with a penalty. In all the plays he told me the same thing. He ended up doing what he had promised me. He repeated it to me three or four times. If you don’t believe me, ask him”, revealed the defender.

Regarding the development of the match, Izquierdoz appreciated the team’s effort and regretted how the victory escaped: “That’s the anger, because we had taken the lead. A 2-0 was a very good result. They play well, we set the game that way and at times we ended up further behind than we wanted, but we understood that if we had it under control we were going to generate attacking plays. We are still angry because they tied us in a very strange play”.

The captain also criticized the intervention of the VAR in the decisive play: “I don’t know what the referee sees. He has time and a thousand cameras to corroborate. I saw him in the field and that’s why I claim it. It is very clear: their player supports himself with both arms. It’s not that he heads and scores the goal, he ends up taking a penalty on whoever is down. I find it regrettable”.

Asked if these situations are common, Izquierdoz was blunt: “Yes, but then he also charges the other way around. You are warning them not to grab one of ours, and when they grab theirs, you have to get paid. That’s why it was our claim”.

The defender also recalled that the referee had already directed the Chilean team in this Cup: “We knew that he had directed the U, but we did not suspect anything, we came to play and that’s it. The procedure had been even, but I was very surprised by the last play.”

Looking ahead to the rematch, the captain left an optimistic message: “At home we have to go out and propose and impose our conditions. Today they imposed a little more, but in La Fortaleza we have to play the way we want.”

Besides, He referred to the tense climate experienced in Santiago and the previous incidents: “It was a strange climate, without an audience. I said it during the week, it is not the fault of the players, it is an issue of the people. When we entered the stadium they threw stones at us, one passed very close to Gonzalo Pérez. They do not understand that they are harming their team. The police should have prevented it, knowing how the people could react”.

Finally, he left a message for the maroon fans ahead of the return: “We have time to recover. Let the people blow up the Fortress, and we are going to leave our soul for them”.