Enner Valencia, a prominent player for the Ecuador national team, was sent off after committing a severe foul against José Martínez during the first half of the match in which Ecuador lost 2-1 against Venezuela on the first date of Group B of the Copa América. The incident occurred 18 minutes into the first half at Levi’s Stadium in California.
The striker from the Internacional de Porto Alegre club was involved in a sudden action that culminated in his expulsion. The play began with an attack by the Ecuadorian team, where Kendry Páez finished in the area and goalkeeper Rafael Romo rebounded. At that moment, Valencia hit Martínez’s neck with his boot, who was left lying on the grass asking for medical attention.. Referee Wilmar Roldán initially showed a yellow card, but after the VAR review, he changed it to red.
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Social networks were filled with opinions divided by the decision of the Colombian judge, as some defended the attacker by saying that there was no bad intention on his part; while other expert analysts in Colombia highlighted the performance of Roldán, who in the Colombian League is usually a bit reluctant to modify his decisions after the VAR review:
- “CLEAR EXPULTION: Enner Valencia’s kick was very strong and resulted in a clear red card. He has his leg stretched out quite a bit and puts the studs between his chest and face, almost on his neck. Very dangerous. Good for the VAR Juan Lara calling Wilmar Roldán” @ElVarCentral
- “Incredible: the referee Wilmar Roldán admonished Valencia in this action, directly and did not dare to send him off, but it is even more incredible that the VAR has to tell him that it is an expulsion, there is no doubt that wild and irresponsible referees are all over the place. world” @ramosrizo
Another of the moments where Wilmar was the protagonist was in an unusual action at minute 58 when he crossed into the career of a Venezuelan player, who ended up on the floor. The player complained to the Colombian judge about his poor positioning on the court, but everything ended between them amidst laughter at what happened.
Social networks were filled with divided opinions due to the decision of the Colombian judge, as some defended the attacker by saying that there was no bad intention on his part, he turned the score around in the second half with goals from Jhonder Cádiz in the 64th minute and Eduard Bello at 74. In his first Copa América match, Roldán showed four yellow cards, the red card from Valencia, 34 fouls, with the Ecuadorians being the ones with the most infractions (20) and supported by his linesmen, there were 4 offsides .
There are 10 Colombian referees present in the oldest national team competition in the world, as center back the other name accompanying Wilmar Roldán is Jhon Ospina. Among the attendees, apart from those already named, are Jhon Gallego and Miguel Roldán. Finally, in the VAR referee category, Nicolás Gallo, Yadir Acuña and David Rodríguez were selected.
Wilmar Roldán, an experienced Colombian referee, has participated in five editions of the Copa América since his debut in 2011. In that first edition, Roldán was in charge of two group stage matches and refereed the third place match between Peru and Venezuela, where he showed 16 yellow cards and one red card to Tomás Rincón.
For the 2015 edition, Roldán refereed three matches, including the final between Chile and Argentina, where Chile won its first Copa América title. During that tournament, he collected 22 yellow cards and awarded two penalties, without showing any red cards. In 2016, in the edition held in the United States, he refereed the match between Ecuador and Peru that ended in a 2-2 draw, and another confrontation between Ecuador and the hosts, the United States, which ended with a victory for the locals.
In the 2019 Copa América in Brazil, he directed three games: Venezuela vs. Peru (0-0), Venezuela vs. Argentina (0-2) and the semifinal between Chile and Peru (0-3). During this edition he showed 13 yellow cards, one red card and awarded a penalty. In the 2021 edition, based again in Brazil, Roldán was in charge of two Group A matches: Argentina vs. Chile (1-1) and Paraguay vs. Chile (2-0).
