Brazilian press criticizes Wilmar Roldán, referee of the match with Ecuador; he is accused of being ´confused´, ´delaying VAR reviews´, ´breaking the rhythm of the game´, and ´irritating the footballers´

Ecuador took a giant step towards the Qatar World Cup this Thursday by drawing 1-1 with Brazil at the height of Quito. The Auriverdes kept their undefeated status in the Conmebol tie and also reached four consecutive pre-World Cup presentations without defeat in the Ecuadorian capital. In the case of the Tricolor, after the triumphs over the Brazilians on the way to Japan-South Korea 2002 and Germany 2006 (both times by 1-0), they are still unable to subdue the South American giant as homeowners.

However, the great protagonist of the day in Quito was the Colombian referee Wilmar Roldán who, in consultation with the VAR, twice rectified the expulsion of the Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson and in one of them he also reversed with a penalty in favor of Ecuador about the end of the match. Those who were not saved were the local goalkeeper, Alexander Dominguez, sent off at minute 16 and the Brazilian Emerson Royal, who saw the red card four minutes later.

In the information about the meeting in the Brazilian press, in the digital editions of several newspapers, the word that is repeated the most is confusion when referring to the performance of Judge Roldán, although there is also talk of “unfortunate presentations by Tite’s trusted men” and that the defense of the team that had already qualified for Qatar “slipped”.

‘Swings in decisions’

the rotary Lance, from Rio de Janeiro, headlined: ‘In a match with confusing arbitration and two expulsions, Brazil draws with Ecuador in the Qualifiers’. It was added that there was “one expulsion from each side, many ups and downs in refereeing decisions until the end, altitude and ups and downs… There was no lack of evidence for the Brazilian team in the 1-1 draw with Ecuador, at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium.”

Of the goal of equality, scored by the central defender Félix Torres, Lance He said: “La Tri continued to haunt the Brazilian area, on a day in which the defensive sector slipped. And, through the aerial ball that fought so hard from the first minute, he reached the tie. After a corner kick, Torres finished off with a precise header. Alisson tried, but he couldn’t avoid the tie”.

‘game cut’

For the São Paulo media Sports Gazette 15 minutes later, “the weather warmed up in Quito. Matheus Cunha got loose on the edge of the box and was kicked in the back of the head by goalkeeper Domínguez. Wilmar Roldán later sent off the Ecuadorian after consulting the VAR. However, Brazil’s numerical advantage was short-lived. That is because, shortly after, Emerson Royal received his second yellow card and was subsequently sent off.

In addition, about other plays that required the use of VAR Sports Gazette reported: `”In minute 31, the referee also showed Alisson a red card, after the goalkeeper committed a foul against (Enner) Valencia. Upon being called by the VAR, however, he changed his mind and presented only the yellow card. From that moment on, the game dropped in performance and was very truncated.

And from the penalty called in favor of the Tricolor, which seemed the possibility of a 2-1 win, VAR also played a leading role: “In the final stretch, the Ecuadorians went up in search of a comeback. In the 90th minute, Alisson tried to move the ball away and ended up bringing down Preciado. In the first moment, Roldán scored a penalty, but turned around (his decision) after consulting the VAR monitor.

‘confusing arbitration’

For Or Balloon, from Rio de Janeiro, ‘Brazil draws with Ecuador on a day of luck and misfortune for Tite’s trusted men’. For this newspaper, the qualifying duel was “a game marked by early expulsions and the confusing refereeing of Wilmar Roldán, from Colombia. The two fair red cards did not come close to eternity lost with the two penalties scored and later reviewed. The worst: Roldán also managed to expel goalkeeper Alisson twice and, later, check the VAR monitor, change what he had marked.

Another newspaper from São Paulo, on its website, titled its note that ‘Brazil maintains unbeaten record in confusing arbitration game against Ecuador’, referring to the fact that the “match in Quito had two expulsions and field decisions corrected by VAR”.

in your review leaf from Sao Paulo describes that “Alisson committed a foul outside the area and the referee understood that the play was subject to expulsion. He only reversed it after consulting the VAR.” But more than criticizing the use of this support, the newspaper criticized the performance of the Colombian referee when using the VAR in the qualifying match between Ecuador and Brazil.

‘Irritated players’

“Even with the technology at his disposal, Roldán was not clear in his statements and also took a long time to decide and review the VAR. So much so that he had to add nine minutes of extra time in the first half, which were still insufficient to make up for the minutes in which the ball stopped rolling”.

For leaf the failures did not only happen in the first half. “And the second stage was not very different. In the 10th minute, Roldán awarded Rafinha a penalty on Pervis Estupiñán, but changed his decision five minutes later, after being alerted by the VAR. His delay in deciding the plays not only broke the rhythm but irritated the players. (D)