Disqualifying kick to the chest and direct red: the violent action of Gabriel Jesus against Eugenio Mena

I had just celebrated Lucas Paquetá somewhat that had helped to decompress an atmosphere of tension in the Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium from Rio de Janeiro. Brazil had not been able to dominate chili throughout the first half and the forward Olympique de Lyon, in the first minute of the complement, scored the 1-0 goal after having jumped from the substitute bench at halftime. However, the joy was short-lived because immediately Gabriel Jesus left expelled.

The attacking benchmark of Tite’s combo committed an unintelligible offense, fraught with violence. It was 2 minutes into the second stage when Claudio Bravo, a few meters outside his area, tried to search with a long send to Eugenio Mena in the left sector of the playing field.

The Manchester City striker was located several meters from the Racing defender, but when he warned that the ball was going to be thrown at him ran at full speed. His head wavered between looking at Bravo and observing Mena’s location. When the ball was falling on the head of the Chilean defender, Gabriel Jesus jumped without explanation with his leg up and gave his opponent a disqualifying slap. Your plugs they brushed the face on the left side and they hit squarely on the shoulder.

Argentine referee Patricio Loustau did not hesitate: he ran with speed to the zone of the fact and took out his red card. The 24-year-old forward did not protest the decision. Luckily for coach Martín Lasarte, Mena was able to continue on the court without problems despite the disqualifying kick.

A not minor detail is that the judge had not shown cards until that moment nor had he had controversial scenes throughout this second duel of the Copa América quarterfinals. Minutes later, Loustau, at the request of his assistants on the court and in the VAR, annulled a goal from Chile for offside.

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