Miguel Russo: “From my perspective, it wasn’t a penalty” | Boca’s coach comments on the controversial play.

Miguel Angel Russo spoke after Boca’s match, which ended in a draw in Miami. “I believe that the penalty is not a penalty; it needs to be reviewed,” he stated. “From where I saw it, it wasn’t. We’re at a level where the referees are Mexican, I’ve been officiated by them in Arabia, and I know them. But it’s very difficult because the opponent is also strong, and there are many factors involved. Still, I don’t complain about the referee, because we need to know how to solve those types of problems; you shouldn’t be conceding a goal at the last minute,” he added in the press conference.

The authors of Boca’s goals also commented on the controversial play. “There’s a penalty there, a bit questionable, but we have to keep pushing,” Rodrigo Battaglia commented.

For his part, Miguel Merentiel stated that the play was crucial for the match’s flow. “The penalty situation conditioned the game a bit, and I think it affected us,” he noted while receiving the player of the match award. He added, “They got the penalty at the end of the first half, which distorted the match. Personally, I didn’t think it was a penalty. There’s a referee, and he decided it was a penalty, so we accept the ruling he made at that moment.”

A few minutes after the match ended, Agustín Marchesín spoke and emphatically pointed out Ramos for his decision. “I don’t know what the referee saw; I’ve known him for a long time, so I’m not surprised, but we have to move on and turn the page. It seemed to me that it wasn’t a penalty, but one has to review it more calmly. However, in a match of this kind, being given such a penalty is shameful. We have to keep going; this is football, and that’s how it is,” declared the goalkeeper.