It took less than 10 minutes into tonight’s CONCACAF Champions League match between Toluca and Monterrey that the quarterfinals had their fourth ejection. Toluca’s Luis Carlos Arias was shown a straight red for bringing up his elbow during an aerial challenge of a ball. That follows Real Salt Lakes Tony Beltran getting a pair of relatively soft yellows in Tuesday’s match with the Columbus Crew and Nat Borchers and Emilio Renteria both being sent off for their involvement in an incident in the same game.
Toluca Vs. Monterrey, CONCACAF Champions League: The Red Cards Keep Coming
All four ejections were questionable when taken by themselves. When taken together, it shows a remarkable willingness of CONCACAF referees to inject themselves into matches.
In the case of Jair Marrufo, who was the ref in Tuesday’s match, the second yellow to Beltran was especially head scratching. Neither challenge seemed particularly dangerous and it was more than a little surprising that Marrufo was so willing to allow RSL to play a man down for more than 30 minutes. The twin reds were confusing, but for different reasons. There was no clear replay of the actions and it’s entirely possible Marrufo saw something the TV cameras did not.
The red shown to Toluca’s Arias was probably justifiable, but for it to come so early in a match is what seemed odd. While his elbow was certainly up, it did not look malicious.
Luckily, at least for those who enjoy watching entertaining soccer, Toluca has refused to pack it in and has continued to control the action.
See More:
