Marcelo Nasarala revealed unpublished aspects of River's relegation and Sergio Pezzota

Almost 14 years after River's fateful relegation to the second tier of Argentine soccer, new details have emerged about how Passarella, along with a Millonario player, allegedly tried to influence the referee to avoid the tragedy.

On June 26, 2011, the Monumental Stadium witnessed one of the darkest pages in River Plate's history. In the second leg of the promotion play-off against Belgrano, the Núñez team drew and confirmed its relegation to the B Nacional after the defeat suffered in the Alberdi neighborhood, Córdoba.

That result was etched in the collective memory of Argentine soccer, and over time, unknown aspects of that moment continue to surface. Marcelo Nasarala, a journalist specializing in the club's current affairs, shared new revelations about that episode that many River fans want to forget.

During his talk with Mariano Closs on the Closs Sport program on Radio Splendid, Nasarala offered details about Daniel Passarella's actions in the AFA and his ties with Julio Grondona, the president of the entity at that time, in the days leading up to the relegation. In that context, he made a provocative statement: "Do you want me to tell you about Pezzotta  (the referee of the match)? The real story?"

Nasarala recalled the extensive concentration that River held at the Hindu Club: "I was there. When Pezzotta's appointment came out, in a room were Passarella and Daniel Bravo, then River's secretary. At one point, they called me to the room to talk, and someone who played for River, a player from that time, knocked on the door. Daniel, can I speak in confidence? Yes, yes, speak in front of Marcelo, there's no problem, he said. And he says: 'I have a way to reach (Pezzotta), I have a mutual friend'. Is he reliable? Is it safe? Yes, yes, and then he shared some details, everything"

In response to this statement, Closs asked: "Reach what? Talk or give him money?" "Eh... Give him candies, just in case we don't swallow any...", the journalist replied. And he continued: "The next day, 250,000 green candies were coming out. Done, yes, yes, no problem, no problem, no problem"

In the second leg, after River managed to take the lead, referee Pezzotta failed to sanction a clear foul by Chiqui Pérez on Leandro Caruso in the area that could have resulted in a penalty for the Millonario, a possible 2-0, and a numerical advantage for the rest of the match. After this controversy, Belgrano replied with a goal by Farré and a penalty saved by Olave against Pavone, which sealed the permanence of the Cordobeses and the debacle of the Núñez team.

Nasarala also recounted that during halftime there was direct pressure from the barra brava on the referee, and later, a striking fact was revealed: "It turns out that on the other side there were 500,000 green candies instead of 250..." This could imply that part of the decisions of the refereeing body in the match were influenced by one or several parties that wanted to see the Millonario in the B.