All Boys showed referee Lamolina a phone. He scrapped the penalty and says he never saw it
Two minutes from time in Floresta, an All Boys player came back onto the pitch with a phone in his hand to show the referee a replay. Nicolás Lamolina then cancelled the penalty he had given to Godoy Cruz, and later told TyC Sports: "Yo nunca pude ver el celular" (I never got to see the phone).
- All Boys 0-0 Godoy Cruz, Primera Nacional (Argentina's second tier), Monday 12 October. The league has no VAR.
- Late on, Lamolina gave Godoy Cruz a penalty for a foul by Iván Zafarana; the replay on the phone showed it was outside the box, and he changed it to a free kick (La Nación, Infobae).
- The game stopped for more than 20 minutes. Godoy Cruz had already missed an earlier penalty, given for a handball that, La Nación says, hit a defender's head.
The first penalty came with about 22 minutes left: Lamolina gave a handball, although the ball had hit a defender's head, and Martín Pino hit the bar. Two minutes from the end he pointed to the spot again, this time for Zafarana's foul on Axel Rodríguez.
All Boys were sure it was outside the area. Zafarana returned with a phone, and Infobae writes that former club director Héctor Capurro also held out his own. Lamolina changed the decision to a free kick outside the box, which the All Boys keeper saved, while Zafarana kept his red card for denying a clear chance. All Boys coach Fabián Nardozza was sent off for protesting.
The referee's version is different. He told TyC Sports that his assistant, Méndez, had said the contact was right on the line and he was not sure it was a penalty: "Solo me apoyé en mi asistente" (I only relied on my assistant), and "Es un trabajo en equipo, confié en él" (it is teamwork, I trusted him). He added that the phone was shown by someone who was not allowed to be there.
La Nación notes that the rules do not allow TV images or outside help in the Primera Nacional. No sanction had been announced by Tuesday morning.
Right call, wrong way to get there
Our editorial team thinks Lamolina ended up with the correct decision and the worst possible process. If his assistant knew the foul was outside, the change should have come in seconds, not after a stoppage of more than 20 minutes and two phones waved at him. The real lesson is for the league: without even a basic video review, every close call in the second tier will now come with a phone, and next time it may show the wrong angle.
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