The controversy over the penalty that River claimed against Tigre continues to make headlines. Andrés Gariano, the main referee of the match that ended in a 1-0 defeat for the Millonario, explained why he decided not to sanction the foul on Ángel Correa and assured that the VAR agreed with his interpretation of the play.
The incident occurred during the first half, when Correa faced goalkeeper Felipe Zenobio after receiving a through ball from Lucas Beltrán. The forward advanced toward the area and was intercepted by Alan Barrionuevo and Nahuel Banegas. In the contact, Banegas struck the River player's leg, causing him to fall, although Gariano deemed there was no foul.
"On the field, I saw a normal game situation, with two Tigre players against one River player, but it was a normal development. In a contact game, it's normal", the referee explained in statements to TyC Sports.
Gariano also maintained that the VAR review was quick and that the officials in the booth shared his interpretation. "The VAR confirmed it to me quickly; it wasn't that it took three minutes to confirm a play. The good thing was that we had the injured players on the field, and we gave the booth more time to work, but they checked it and saw the same thing I did on the field, which is why they upheld my decision", he commented to ESPN.
The referee also stated that he did not review the action after the match and emphasized that, according to the information he received from the VAR, his decision was correct. "As far as I know, it was a correct decision: the VAR supported it; otherwise, they would have invited me", he affirmed.
The play generated significant discontent in River and was even publicly questioned by Eduardo Coudet and Nicolás Otamendi. The incident occurred during one of the few dangerous attacks in the first half and became one of the main points of discussion after Tigre's victory.
