The Sunday evening game slot saw Chivas face off against Toluca, in the Liga MX stadium that features the highest altitude in the entire league. The lack of oxygen didn’t seem to be an issue for Chivas though who were helped by a very active Alexis Vega, and Roberto Alvarado. Both of them had several shots on goal that Thiago Volpi was able to save without too much trouble.
Toluca also had some opportunities of their own, particularly in the first half. However, Miguel “Wacho” Jimenez proved once again that he’s worthy of being Chivas’ number one. Jimenez is perhaps one of the least talented Chivas goalkeepers of the last few years, it’s hard to argue though that he’s found a level of consistency that neither Raul Gudino nor Toño Rodríguez could ever find between the sticks for Guadalajara. When it was all set and done though it was referee Cesar Arturo Ramos, and the guys in the VAR truck that stole the show. If you asked Chivas supporters they may say that the refs stole the 3 points that they had in the bag. The truth is they may have a point.
The Disallowed Penalty That Should’ve Been For Chivas
VAR controversies have been a constant throughout the current Liga MX season. One of the things that people around the league point to is that the folks in the VAR truck are making refs doubt their decisions by calling them in to look at a play that was called correctly on the field. That seemed to be the case late in the second half when Cesar Arturo Ramos awarded a penalty kick to Chivas.
Toluca defender Valber Huerta seemingly gave Chivas attacker Chiquete Orozco a light push off. The contact was presumably hard enough to get Orozco out of position, and not allow him to make contact with the ball. We want to emphasize the fact that it was a light push off. It was so light that when Cesar Ramos went back to look at the play he decided that the contact was not relevant enough to be able to award the penalty kick to Chivas. What do you think of the play? VAR issues, though, did not end there, and perhaps the second play was more controversial.
Realmente son difíciles de explicar las cosas que pasan en el arbitraje de la Liga MX.
— Tony Valls ⚽ (@TonyVallsFox) September 5, 2022
El árbitro acierta al marcar la falta y los del VAR lo llaman para inducirlo a equivocarse y quitarle un claro penal a Chivas.pic.twitter.com/AU4TGoLSsf
A Brilliant Chicote Calderon Goal Was Also Disallowed
Just a few minutes after the controversial penalty kick play Chicote Calderon controlled a through ball after a quick change of possession in favor of Chivas at midfield. Calderon dribbled from right to left towards the goal defended by Thiago Volpi before launching a shot from outside the box that found the back of the net through the top right-hand corner of the goal. Volpi didn’t even get a chance to dive to make the shot even more spectacular.
El gol de Chicote JAMAS es fuera de lugar. Increíble el arbitraje hoy. pic.twitter.com/uqvIKO09kF
— Fabrizio Alarcón (@fabrialarcon) September 5, 2022
Instead of a celebration after this amazing shot we got more questions, and more controversy. The linesmen on the field called the play off for offside. The argument that the refs gave on the field was that Calderon started the play offside, but then came back to the ball. That may very well have been the case. What happened though was that thanks to the fact that the play happened so quickly, and a good portion of the field was covered by the pass to Calderon there was no clear TV shot that allowed at least those of us at home to verify that he was in fact offside. With no clear evidence it seems that the refs decided to go with the call on the field. The issue is, evidence was arguably inconclusive on the penalty kick as well! Couldn’t Cesar Ramos have done the same thing there? Stick to the call on the field! Chivas fans are not happy about this one for sure.
