La Derecha Diario By mistake, Rodrigo De Paul received a yellow card that was later corrected.
The midfielder was unusually booked in the match against Brazil due to a referee's confusion
In the national team's thrashing against Brazil, Andrés Rojas, the match referee, mistakenly booked Rodrigo De Paul for a foul he didn't commit. However, in the final report, the sanction was assigned to Leandro Paredes, who won't be able to play against Chile in the next FIFA date.
The incident occurred at the 74th minute of the Clásico de las Américas at the Monumental stadium. The Colombian referee showed the yellow card to the Atlético de Madrid player for a foul on André. However, it was a mistake, as the real offender was the Roma player.
De Paul's protest and the final decision
The confusion arose during the match when De Paul protested vehemently, pointing to his teammate for the referee to correct his decision. "I didn't touch him. It was the five (meaning Paredes). It wasn't me," insisted the Colchonero midfielder, who was on the verge of suspension and risked missing the next match against Chile.
From the match broadcast, no correction was perceived from the referee, so apparently, De Paul remained booked until the end of the match.
However, it was later revealed that, in the referee's report, the yellow card was correctly assigned to Paredes for the off-the-ball hit on the Brazilian player. As a result, the Roma midfielder was suspended for the match against Chile on matchday 15 of the South American Qualifiers, having reached the booking limit. Additionally, Nicolás Otamendi and Enzo Fernández were also ruled out for the next commitment.
Possible absences in Scaloni's squad
Looking ahead to matchdays 15 and 16 of the South American Qualifiers, which will be played on June 4 and 9 against Chile (away) and Colombia (home) respectively, Lionel Scaloni will have to consider possible absences due to the overlap with the start of the Club World Cup in the United States, scheduled for June 14.
One of those affected is precisely Rodrigo De Paul, who will play the world event with Atlético de Madrid alongside Nahuel Molina, Ángel Correa, Julián Álvarez, and Giuliano Simeone.
Other regularly called-up players who will be in the tournament include Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Lautaro Martínez (Inter), Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica), Enzo Fernández (Chelsea), and Nicolás González (Juventus). Additionally, several River players would also be absent, such as Germán Pezzella, Gonzalo Montiel, Marcos Acuña, and Lucas Martínez Quarta.
To these absences is added the possible withdrawal of Paulo Dybala, who recently underwent surgery for his left thigh semitendinosus tendon injury and might not recover in time.
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