Record recovery in Bolivia, 42′ in Atletico Palmaflor-Blooming: what happened – Corriere.it

During the World Cup in Qatar i recoveries
extra large they had caused much discussion, so much so that, for one thing, England-Iran had reached a total of 27′ between the first and second half. But in Bolivia the record is reached: 42′ after the second half. In fact, we played for a third time. And not without controversy. The episode occurred in the Italian night between 13 and 14 March, when the match was played between Athletic
Palmaflor And blooming
, third and penultimate respectively in the Bolivian top flight. A match that at home they already call cursed, both for how it started and above all for how it finished. Let’s start with the final result: a 3-2 that apparently didn’t have any surprises, given the forces on the field. But the hosts managed to win it only in the 128th minute.

Strikes and bad weather

But what happened? First of all, the date of the race was not supposed to be this, but sunday 12: the problem that, due to strikes and traffic jams, the television station that should have broadcast it had not had time to show up on time. Postponement requested by both clubs and granted. But the fact, already curious in itself, became much more striking the next day, when an episode of extreme bad weather (increasingly typical in South America) hit Villa Tunari, in the Tropic of Cochabamba, where the home team plays. The heavy rain had put the game at serious risk, but both teams had asked to play anyway: despite the conditions, the referee Julio Fernando Gutiérrez he had given the go-ahead, even though he had to interrupt the race several times due to the pitch being unusable.

From the Var to expulsions

Not only. Down 2-0, in the 86th minute the guests had managed to shorten by scoring a goal for which ten minutes of Var were needed (suspected offside). Thus, at 2-1 and given the too many breaks, the referee had decided to allow an extra half hour of play. And then stretch again. In fact, nervousness and tiredness could not help but take over: in the 111th minute a Blooming player was sent offMenacho, but the team still managed to equalize in the 114th minute. An incredible party destined to last very little. In the 118th minute, the second expulsion for the guests against Becerra Vaca, and a further recovery granted by the referee, which led Palmaflor to score the final 3-2 in the 128th minute. Four minutes later, finally, the end of the game came.

Rain of controversy

In a surreal atmosphere, the defeated then indulged in a very harsh Tweet: End of the third period! it is read. An embarrassing refereeing was once again the protagonist of the match, exposing the players to possible injuries, giving an exaggerated recovery and completely influencing the result that our team achieved with great merit. Appeals don’t seem to be on the horizon, but the match has already entered history. And it will be difficult to match it.