The University of Chile was left out of the South American Cup 2025 after losing 1-0 to Lanus in the second leg semi-final, but the defeat left much more than sadness: in the trans-Andean country the anger broke out over the Venezuelan refereeing Alexis Herrerawho was accused of tipping the balance in favor of the Argentine team.
Read also: The president of Palmeiras invaded the coach’s conference and gave a strong message after reaching the final of the Copa Libertadores
The match, played in Ciudad de Lanús stadiumended with a 3-2 aggregate for Granate, but was marked by two plays that unleashed the fury of the Chileans: the goal by Lanús, which was born from an unsanctioned handball by a local player, and the non-expulsion of Agustín Cardozo for a flat iron Javier Altamirano at the start of the match.
In addition, Herrera annulled a goal for the U when the score was 0-0 due to a very fine advanced position at the beginning of the play.
“Disgusting” and “a robbery”: the harshest phrases after the elimination
The first to come out to the crossroads was Johnny Herreraidol of the U and champion of the Sudamericana in 2011, today turned commentator. In the program “We Are All Técnicos” on TNT Sports, nothing was held back: “The U played a great game, but It was seen how little weight we have at the international and South American levelwhere the match is unbalanced in favor of Lanús due to the referee’s actions,” he claimed.
The former goalkeeper also questioned the goal disallowed against the U due to millimeter offside and the handball play in Lanús’ goal: “The handball in the play that ends in a goal is treacherousit is a play at the discretion of the referee.”
The referee annulled a goal against the U of Chile after checking an offside position in the VAR (Photo: Reuters).
“Sadly, the lack of weight we have as Chilean football in Conmebol is disgusting. They played hugging each other, the president of Lanús managed the game so they changed it for Monday and we did the opposite. Very sad about how everything happened, the U was more,” he said.
The leadership of the U also charged against the arbitration
From the dome of Blue Bluethe dealership that manages the club, there were also strong words. Michael Clarkpresident of the institution, was critical although more measured: “In sport sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Something more could always have been done, the two goals were also off side, theirs too (those who annulled),” he analyzed.
The leadership of the U of Chile questioned referee Herrera (Photo: Reuters).
However, Clark left a phrase that reflected the general annoyance: “Football is unrepeatable, not a counterfactual, I think that if we had arrived with a few more days off we could have had more spark. But that’s it, it’s already lost, it’s just FIFA and we have to move on.”
For its part, Jose Ramon Correadirector of the U, was forceful when speaking with radio Cooperativa: “We saw it (the goal play), surprised, taking care of our wallets at this minute in case we touched someone. It’s a robbery no matter how you look at it, it’s tremendous, what else can you do?”, he launched.
The sports manager Manuel Mayo He was even more concise and direct: “A robbery, a robbery,” he repeated as he left the stadium. Asked if this could be a “pass of account” for what happened before Independiente, he responded: “I don’t know, I don’t believe, I don’t know if that has anything to do with it, but this was a robbery.”
