After his controversial refereeing in the Barracas Central - Boca match, Nicolás Lamolina was not appointed to officiate any Primera División or Primera Nacional match next weekend. The measure is interpreted in the football community as a punishment for his poor decisions, including the two red cards not given to Rafael Barrios and Javier Ruiz, but especially for the sending off of Iván Tapia, son of AFA president Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia.
The issue was widely discussed by Mariano Closs on his ESPN show, where he was highly critical of the leadership of Argentine refereeing. "They removed Lamolina... Lamolina was appointed to this match so that no one would suspect anything. Because he is a credible referee. He officiated Barracas-Boca and was not appointed even to take a throw-in," he stated.
The journalist also compared the situation with other cases and questioned the role of VAR in the match: "What did I do when Lamolina was not appointed? I said: who was the VAR for that match, Trucco. I checked if he was appointed. He will be VAR for River-Gimnasia. That means, in conclusion, that they do not blame Lamolina for that play. With Trucco and Lamolina we agree that it is a yellow card. Conclusion: they removed him for having sent off Tapia. It is tremendous."
Closs also targeted the referee observers, suggesting that there might be unequal treatment among referees: "Lamolina has bad luck with the observers. The observers for Gariano, Lobo Medina, Aarasa, Merlos, and Zunino are always good. Now we have to pay attention to the observers... Oh, what a coincidence, they removed Lamolina and never remove Gariano, Lobo Medina, Arasa, or Zunino. Incredible, isn't it?"
It is worth noting that the decision not to include Lamolina among the referees for the next round was made entirely by Federico Beligoy, National Director of Refereeing and one of Tapia's most loyal associates. This case once again highlights how AFA's top officials seem to run Argentine football as they please, making decisions that often appear to respond more to personal interests than to sporting or justice criteria.
