THE MOVE OF THE YEAR: Cuban arbitration chief recognized WRONG DECISION

By Gian Franco Gil

In the Cuban Baseball Final there was no lack of controversy. A play at home plate put the main referee of the seventh clash between Matanzas and Granma, Omar Peralta, on «3 and 2». With the bases loaded, veteran Carlos Benítez grounded into the shortstop area and Erisbel Arruebarrena threw toward the plate, causing discord.

The judge did not hesitate to understand his arms and decree the quiet of Yosbany Milan, who spent the fastest race from the lobby to the register. It was then that the divided criteria began. The Granma partisans, overwhelming majority in the Martyrs of Barbados, quickly supported the first decision. Meanwhile, the Crocodiles, together with their director, Armando Ferrer, hoped that the slow motion would do justice and avoid the third entry.

Ferrer appealed to video. In the Latin American, the arbitration body received the request and began to work. Several minutes of deliberation. The play didn’t really seem that complicated, at least when you looked closely, but the last game of the contest deserved a thorough review and the delay was to some extent justified.

The call came. The seconds that the umpire took to deliver the final verdict became eternal for those present in the Alazanes stable. To the surprise, mainly of the viewers, the initial decision was upheld, the quiet was ratified and the game continued with apparent calm, because the video “never fails”.

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Immediately the networks exploded.

Fans and colleagues from the press could not understand the situation. It was perhaps one of the easiest plays to decide after an entire season. The out was obvious, the ball arrived on time and the receiver fulfilled his function, stepping on the pentagon to complete the out.

In the eyes of this writer, Granma did not deserve to score, but my opinion is as inconsequential as that of the hundreds of fans who took to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram profiles to denounce the obvious mistake. The criterion that will endure is that of Luis César Valdes, an authoritative voice when it comes to arbitration, much more so this year since he had to supervise the actions of his teammates

“After a long road and tireless days, I publicly acknowledge the mistake of the “replay” on the home play. We will continue working and fighting so that things like these do not happen. We know that it is very hard, but not impossible, we will continue working and helping the artibrage », explained Cesar Valdés on his Facebook profile.

With these statements, the former referee of the National Series put an end to the debate and exposed to public opinion the great mistake of the arbitration group. Although, in the lines that continued in the publication he tried to protect the prestige of his subordinates.

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“We will never be satisfied with what has been achieved. We have to stay united and between all of us get to give the best of each one of us. I heartily congratulate all the referees in Cuba and we are sure that we can do better », he concluded his message to the colleagues who participated in the day and to those who are about to debut in the domestic tournament.

Although Matanzas did not manage to score runs, dominated by the shipments of Leandro Martinez and then César García, the action at the plate was decisive throughout the game. I would dare to say that a zero in that episode would have changed “the face” of the people from Matanzas. Even trying to reverse a difference of two runs is not the same as trying to reverse a difference of four.

A person can be wrong. In real time it is very difficult to make a sound decision on stocks. Many times intuition, placement and experience are what define. This is how it happens on the pitch in front of thousands of spectators in the most important match of the tournament.

But an arbitration group, in a room, with all the time to decide, with the necessary technology cannot fail. Not in such a simple play. The video came to eliminate injustices, to eliminate problems due to arbitration decisions, to make the game a spectacle without stains. So, a referee can’t be the Most Valuable Player, that’s what the real protagonists are for, the players.