Astonishing moment referee ignores VAR and REFUSES to send players off for two-footed tackle and punch in face

THIS is the astonishing moment a referee ignored VAR’s recommendation and refused to send players off following chaos on the pitch.

Uruguayan giants Nacional and Argentine aces River Plate played out a fiery Copa Libertadores group stage game on Tuesday night.

Visitors River took a 2-0 lead in the first half but were pegged back late on by two goals in as many minutes from Nacional’s Gonzalo Carneiro.

However, things could have turned out differently had the referee opted to show several red cards earlier in the match.

With River ahead 2-0 early in the second half, chaos reigned when Nacional’ player’s Leandro Lozano launched an outrageous two-footed lunge on an opponent.

The naughty footballer left the floor as he walloped the River star, who cried out in pain from the resulting challenge.

This sparked a massive on-field melee between stars from both sides, with plenty of pushing and shoving.

It quickly escalated as several punches were thrown, with footage showing River’s Paulo Diaz being punched in the face by Franco Romero of Nacional.

And VAR quickly interjected to tell the ref to look at the pitch-side monitor for a potential two red cards.

The official took his time on the sideline, watching several replays of the tackle and resulting brawl.

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However, in incredible scenes, Brazilian referee Anderson Daronco opted not to send anybody off.

Instead, he dished out several yellows to keep the wild flow of the game going.

Unlike in Europe, South American continental tournaments release VAR audio footage of key incidents after the match.

And this was done by Conmebol for the Nacional vs River Plate incident (Portuguese with Spanish subtitles).

The footage shows that Daronco felt that excessive force was used by Lozano in the two-footed tackle, but as the player got the ball it was only worthy of a yellow card.

The official was then heard asking for the real-time rather than slow-motion footage of the brawl which saw Romero punch Diaz in the face.

After being given the footage, he concluded that this incident was also only worthy of a yellow card.

But despite recommending two potential red cards, there was also criticism of the VAR team.

That’s because the referee was greeted with complete silence when he informed them that he was going to give two yellow cards, when normally the VAR team would be expected to respond.

River fans were not happy at all, especially as the lack of serious action eventually led to Nacional rescuing a draw.

One said: “A shame due to the refereeing errors.”

Another declared: “That’s a red card.”

One noted: “The tackle and the punch were red, these errors cannot just remain like this.”

Another added: “Everything is against us, they robbed us with VAR showing everything.”

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk