(CNN) — Footballers and fans in Chile were stunned after a referee and his referees failed to award a goal after the ball crossed the nearly half-metre line.
In the first 10 seconds of the Copa Chile match between Colo-Colo and Unión La Calera, the defender of Colo-Colo AlanSaldvia gave a pass to goalkeeper Fernando de Paul.
Some La Calera players started celebrating, but quickly stopped when they realized that referee Víctor Abarzúa hadn’t signaled the goal and Colo-Colo continued to play.
Adding insult to injury, before La Calera could challenge the referees, Colo-Colo got up at the other end and quickly made it 1-0.
Things did not go well for La Calera, as Colo-Colo won the match 6-1 and qualified for the regional semi-finals, while La Calera finished the match with 10 men.
Some Chilean stadiums have a video arbitration system (VAR), such as the Estadio Monumental, where this match was played, but it is not used in the first rounds of the Chilean Cup.
Roberto Tobar, head of the Chilean referee commission, attributed the mistake to the referee’s and his assistants’ lack of concentration.
“Unfortunately (…) a quite obvious mistake was made by the referee team by not sanctioning a legitimate goal in favor of Unión La Calera after an own goal by a Colo-Colo defender,” he said, according to the newspaper La Tercera.
“This type of situation, which occurs very rarely 10 seconds into a match, means that the referees are not 100% active and, therefore, are not in the right conditions to make the best decision.”
“In unexpected situations is when concentration and a good position prevail to make a great decision,” added Tobar.
This explanation is unlikely to make La Calera fans feel any better.
As the ball made its way towards goal, De Paul desperately tried to back off and prevent it from crossing the line, but did not arrive in time and kicked the ball after it had crossed the line.
