The Chilean Football Federation (FFC) asked the governing body of South American football, CONMEBOLto suspend the referee Wilmar Roldan after they were eliminated from the America Cup on Saturday after the 0-0 draw with CanadaThe FCC says the Colombian referee lacked impartiality and made “serious errors” in the match against the Canadians.
Chile were outraged after being reduced to 10 men when Gabriel Suazo received a second yellow card in the 27th minute of the match in Orlando. They were also aggrieved after Canadian defender Moise Bombito appeared to elbow Rodrigo Echeverria in the fifth minute of the match, but the incident was not reviewed by VAR.
In the letter to CONMEBOL’s refereeing commission, the FCC said Roldán also made “flagrant errors” at other Copa América matches, where he failed to award a penalty to Chile in a 2-0 group stage loss to Paraguay. CONMEBOL rejected the FCC’s request to suspend the referee after that match.
“The FFC requests that referee Wilmar Roldán be sanctioned with an indefinite and definitive suspension and/or with the maximum sanction applicable to such disastrous conduct,” wrote the FCC in the letter signed by Secretary General Jorge Yunge Williams. “This corresponds to Mr. Roldán’s recurrent behavior in those matches in which he referees the Chilean national team.”
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The FFC also raises issues with the referees in their other group games against Argentina and Peru, saying Uruguayan Andres Matonte and Brazil’s Wilton Sampaio were guilty of “questionable refereeing decisions.” Chile exited the tournament after failing to score a single goal. The 2015 and 2016 Copa winners had not been eliminated before the tournament’s quarter-finals since 2004.
