Is That Smoke I Smell, Or Is Something Rotten In The AFA?

In the wake of Newell's Old Boys loss to Arsenal, Guillermo Lorente has had a few choice words for the state of officiating in Argentine Futbol. Seeing his team lose while referee Pablo Lunati calls 10 fouls against Newell's, and only 2 against the opposition is enough to cause quite the stir amongst La Lepra fans, but even the team's president took exception, and singled out the official, while questioning the quality of arbitration offered by the officials as a whole.

Adding to that is the news that Lunati will be handling Banfield's match against Tigre on Wednesday. I, for one, will be taking a close look at this game. If the fouls are as out of balance as they were for the Newell's/Arsenal match then we'll have more than good reason to complain.

Newell's match at Gimnasia La Plata, also set for Wednesday, sees Carlos Maglio in the role of referee. This is far from encouraging, as he was the referee who called La Lepra's match against Estudiantes. While Newell's won, he called 18 fouls against the team, as compared to only 9 called against the Estudiantes, also from La Plata.

Now many a Lepra has stated that they have felt that the AFA itself has been trying to keep Newell's from claiming the title. All this only adds fuel to that fire, and I have to wonder how long it go on before FIFA takes note, and decides to stick their nose into this bit of nasty business.