Chile is preparing for its biggest challenge in this Copa America. On Saturday, it will face Canada in an all-or-nothing duel in its third match of the group stage. If it wins, it has a great chance of advancing to the quarterfinals, while a draw or defeat will cause the elimination of Ricardo Gareca’s team.
A key duel, which will have an old acquaintance of La Roja’s referee. This is Wilmar Roldán, the Colombian referee who in 2021 was the protagonist of a controversial episode with the team of all, when in the match between Chile and Paraguay he did not call an obvious penalty in favor of the national team.
The decision generated the anger of the ANFP, who, once the 2-0 defeat was consummated, presented a formal claim against the judge. The letter was presented to the Brazilian Wilson Seneme, president of the Conmebol Referees Commission, through the general secretary of the ANFP, Jorge Yunge Williams and requested the suspension of the referee in the Copa América.
The reasons were clear: “Due to the bad decision made in the play that occurred in the 71st minute, where the Paraguay national team player, Carlo González (sic), hit the ball with his hand in the penalty area, a situation that in our opinion constitutes an open criminal offence, and that the aforementioned referee, despite being invited by the VAR to review it, ends up rejecting it,” they point out.
In that same writing they added: “In addition, it is striking that our national team has been coached on two occasions during the tournament by the same referee, which, From our point of view, it openly breaks the impartiality and Fair Play that must exist in football.”.
Beyond the controversial episode, the truth is that the record of La Roja when it is directed by the Colombian is not positive. Although he was in charge of delivering justice in the 2015 Copa América final (0-0), the team has only won one of the eight games that Roldán has coached in regular time.
The victory was precisely in the last duel in which they have crossed paths: the 2-0 that Chile gave to Peru in the Qualifiers for the 2036 World Cup. For him it will be his second meeting in this continental event, after having refereed Ecuador and Venezuela, where he showed the first red of the championship.
