The clock was just over a quarter of an hour into the Malvinas Argentinas Stadium in Mendoza when Brian Aguirre won possession of the ball from Kevin Mantilla and burst into the area to finish off Guido Herrera. Boca Juniors had scored a 1-0 lead against Talleres de Córdoba in the quarter-finals of the Argentine Cup, but a huge controversy had also arisen: the ball had gone out of play just before the low shot by the Boca Juniors striker.
The former Newell’s striker did not foul the Colombian defender, but he did take advantage of a situation that should have resulted in a goal kick in favor of the T. The one who most expressed his dissatisfaction with what happened was captain Herrera, who saw from the goal that the ball had gone out in its entirety, something that was confirmed by the different replays shown on official television.
It should be remembered that for the ball to be considered to have gone out of bounds, it must have crossed the entire line. “The ball is not in play when it has completely crossed the goal line or the touch line, whether on the ground or in the air,” states an excerpt from Rule 9 of the International Football Association Board (IFAB). Neither the main referee, Andrés Merlos, nor the linesmen Pablo Gualtieri (located on the opposite side) and Yamil Bonfá, saw that the ball was out of bounds when Aguirre recovered it.
It should be remembered that the Copa Argentina does not have VAR available, as it does in all the matches of the Professional League, match by match, and that is why the referee could not corroborate the controversial action on camera. Without the assistance of technology, in this case the weight of responsibility falls on Merlos, who was the best-positioned member of the refereeing team at that time.
It was just a few seconds after this mistake that led to Boca’s goal that Talleres de Córdoba equalized with a cross shot from former River player Federico Girotti, when 19 minutes of activity had already passed in the first half.
Although there were various incidents that were claimed from one side and the other, the Xeneize showed their disagreement with the offside call against Milton Giménez at 78 minutes in an action that, seconds after the linesman raised the flag, ended with a goal by Jabes Saralegui after a pass from Changuito Exequiel Zeballos. In the final count of the match, Merlos handed out five yellow cards (2 to Talleres players and 3 to Boca players).
Finally, the duel resulted in a long penalty shootout that saw Boca celebrating its ticket to the quarter-finals where it will face Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata.
