“That the VAR is decided by a woman is complicated”

The Brasileirao, the most important tournament in Brazil, has begun, and many Argentines are beginning to make the news. Many on the field, but others also outside. That last case was that of the Rioja coach Ramón Díaz, who this Wednesday made a sexist comment in the middle of a press conference after the defeat of his team Vasco da Gama due to the performance of a female referee in the VAR and had to come out to apologize quickly when The topic had escalated on social networks.

What happened? Ramón Díaz’s claim – who saved the Rio de Janeiro team from relegation last season – was for a play that occurred on Sunday in the debut against Gremio, who beat him 2 to 1. But like this Wednesday against Bragantino (also defeat 1-2) there was a controversial refereeing, the journalists took up the topic to ask about the refereeing.

“Regarding the referees, we can’t talk much because the VAR is there and in the last match, At home, a lady, a woman, was a criminal and she interpreted it differently. Soccer is different. Mainly that the VAR has to be decided by a woman, it seems to me that I think it is quite complicatedbecause football is so dynamic, with a lot of pressure, very fast and with very quick decisions,” was Ramón Díaz’s statement at a press conference.

Thirty minutes later, upon leaving the Nabi Abi Chedid stadium, the coach looked for the journalists and apologized, although he assured that they had misunderstood him, because in reality he meant that “One person cannot make a decision”.

“If something was misinterpreted in my statement, I want to apologize. It seemed to me that what I meant was that a single person cannot make a decision as important as it is in football and that is the participation of the VAR. If it was misinterpreted, I ask I apologize since it is not my intention,” clarified Ramón.

The play claimed by Ramón Díaz refers to the match against Gremio, four minutes into the second half and sparked debate in the VAR booth. On that occasion, the Chilean Galdames complained about the lack of defender Rodrigo Ely, from the Porto Alegre team.

When reviewing the play, Daiane Muniz, responsible for the VAR in the match, initially considered that there was a penalty, but he retracted it and finally did not recommend the review.