Arturo Vidal starred in three controversial episodes during the Copa Libertadores quarter-final match between River Plate and Colo-Colo (1-0)The midfielder provoked the ‘millionaire’ fans before and after the match, during which he had a fight with ‘Toro’ Acuña and the goalkeeper Armani. In addition, he gave Mastantuono a hard kick.
Even before the start of the match, which had already heated up the game, the Chilean spoke to the public in a provocative manner, making ugly gestures to the stands, who in turn also got involved. He had clashes with two of River’s three world champions. First with Franco Armani. The goalkeeper made a sensational dribble and Vidal, exhausted, asked for a yellow card for the goalkeeper shortly after for wasting time and insulted him, accusing him of being a coward by calling him “a coward.”
In another episode, Vidal did not take a foul by Nacho Fernández well but ended up facing ‘Huevo’ (Acuña), a spicy clash that ended with pushing by both and forced his teammates to separate them so that it did not escalate, although both were cautioned.
Vidal made a hard tackle on Mastantuono
Finally, the former Barça player flirted with being sent off and was spared because referee Matonte forgave him, as Vidal hit Franco Mastantuono hard with just three minutes left in the match. The Chilean arrived late and hit the River Plate star, an action for which the home fans clamored for a red card that never came.
