La Liga Profesional released the VAR audio of the expulsions of Martínez Quarta and Montiel in the Superclásico

The Superclásico that ended with Boca's victory 1-0 at La Bombonera left several controversial refereeing decisions and a complicated outcome for River, which finished the match with nine players. The expulsions of Lucas Martínez Quarta and Gonzalo Montiel generated strong complaints from the Núñez team and, hours after the match, the Professional League released the VAR audios to explain how both decisions were made.

The expulsion of Lucas Martínez Quarta

The first red card came seven minutes into the match. After a high pass from Santiago Ascacíbar, Miguel Merentiel was in a position to advance towards the goal defended by Santiago Beltrán, but was held with both arms by Martínez Quarta. Nicolás Ramírez did not notice the foul at first, so Silvio Trucco, in charge of the VAR, intervened to recommend a review for an interruption of a possible clear goal-scoring opportunity, known as DOGSO (Denying an Obvious Goal-Scoring Opportunity).

In the booth, Trucco and the VAR assistant (AVAR), Gastón Suárez, analyzed the action from different angles and speeds. The former identified the hold and requested to evaluate the tactical aspects of the play, such as the distance to the goal, the speed of the attacker, and the possibility of controlling the ball. "Let's check for possible DOGSO", announced Trucco at the start of the analysis. Then, while watching the footage, he added: "He has distance, he has speed, he has control... The ball is going towards him", referring to Merentiel.

Once he communicated with Ramírez, the VAR official invited him to conduct a field review (OFR) for a possible red card. There, he showed him the foul from different angles and explained: "There is a hold with both arms". The main referee acknowledged that he had not seen that contact during the game: "Perfect, that's what I don't observe on the field".

After reanalyzing the sequence, Ramírez changed his initial decision and determined that Martínez Quarta had denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity. "I observe that the defender commits a foul by holding the forward in a clear goal-scoring opportunity", he communicated.

Finally, he confirmed the expulsion of the defender and awarded a direct free kick to Boca. The explanation was also recorded in the announcement he made to the players: "After a field review, I observe that the visiting player number 28 commits a DOGSO foul against the opposing team. Final decision: free kick for the home team and expulsion of visiting player number 28".

The red card to Gonzalo Montiel

The second expulsion occurred at 34 minutes into the second half, when Montiel brought down Lautaro Blanco with a kick that impacted the ankle of the Boca fullback. On this occasion, Ramírez showed the direct red card on the field, and the VAR team analyzed the severity of the foul before confirming the decision.

In the footage released, Trucco and Suárez quickly agreed that the expulsion was warranted. "Good, Nico, for me the red is perfect", expressed the AVAR, while the booth official noted: "Yes. He goes for the ankle". The referees specifically reviewed the point of contact of the studs and the twist that Blanco's ankle suffered. To do this, they requested different angles and stopped the sequence frame by frame. "High impetuosity, high force, high intensity", described Suárez during the analysis.

For his part, Trucco justified the severity of the tackle: "Leg extended. There is force, there is intensity, the contact is in the soft area of the ankle with the studs and there is a twist of the ankle". The VAR official re-examined the impact and agreed with his colleague's assessment. "There you can clearly see the twist of the ankle at the contact", he emphasized.

Finally, Suárez confirmed the main referee's decision: "I confirm the expulsion, Nicolás, I confirm the expulsion of player 29". Thus, Montiel had to leave the field, and River finished the Superclásico with two fewer players.