Greivin Porras, a referee analyst, stated that the central referee in the match between Alajuelense and Liberia, Bryan Cruz, had a negative influence against the Guanacastecos. According to Porras, Cruz should have awarded a penalty in favor of Liberia but did not.
The incident occurred in Alajuelense’s penalty area. Porras said there was a clear push by an Alajuelense defender on a Liberia attacker. “It was a very clear penalty, the Liberia player was hit on the ankle and the referee did not call it. The VAR did not help and I do not understand how they did not see the foul. It is unfortunate to see both the VAR and the referee fail; it was a clear foul,” said Porras.
Porras also commented that aside from this incident, referee Cruz managed the rest of the game without major issues. “The complicated thing is that his only mistake was serious,” added Porras.
If this goal had been scored, Liberia would have made it 2-1 in this match and 3-2 overall for Alajuelense, but with time left for Liberia to seek an equalizer.
