AFA pardons Barros Schelotto and Fattori, but not Costas | OneFootball

The Vélez coach and the Argentinos Juniors midfielder had both been handed two-match bans for their expulsions, but the Disciplinary Tribunal reduced their suspensions after serving one match, so they will be available this weekend. The Racing coach wasn’t so lucky…

Thursday is a day of decisions for the AFA Disciplinary Tribunal, and the Official Bulletin handed out expected sanctions to those sent off in the sixth round of the Clausura Tournament, but also some pardons from the fifth round, such as those benefiting Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Federico Fattori.

The Vélez coach had been shown a red card for his heated altercation with fourth official Lucas Comesaña during the win over Independiente at the José Amalfitani. The incident started with confusion over a substitution, which first saw his assistant Federico Insúa sent off, and then the referee accused the “Mellizo” of “cheating,” which drove him mad and led to Leandro Rey Hilfer’s red card and subsequent insults towards the assistant.

Since he had also been sent off by Sebastián Martínez Beligoy in the opening round against Tigre for arguing with assistant Javier Delbarba, the coach was given a two-match ban. However, after serving the first during the win over Godoy Cruz, he is now cleared for the seventh round and will return to the bench on Saturday at home against Lanús.

The excerpt from the AFA resolution that reduced the penalties.

In the case of the Argentinos midfielder, his red card came from a heated clash with Huracán, in which “El Bicho” finished with nine men. In a midfield challenge, he recklessly went in with his arms wide open and struck Colo Leonardo Gil on the jaw, earning a straight red from Luis Lobo Medina.

With his direct expulsion, he too was handed a two-match suspension, but now, after missing the rout against Racing, he will also be able to return on Saturday when they visit Independiente Rivadavia.

Gustavo Costas, a different case

The Racing coach lost his temper in the defeat against Tigre, shouting “thief” at Darío Herrera after the penalty awarded against “La Academia” following a VAR review of Gabriel Rojas’ hold on Alfio Oviedo. After the goal that leveled the match for Tigre, the coach’s outburst followed, and after being shown the red card, he returned to the pitch to confront the referee, only to be stopped by Ignacio Rodríguez and his son Gonzalo. When it came time for the sanction, he was given a four-match ban.

Of course, Costas’ previous record also played a role: in the opening round, he erupted in anger and was sent off when Barracas Central won in the dying moments after a goal by Maravilla Martínez was disallowed because, at the start of the play, the striker himself had committed a penalty in his own box! Nicolás Lamolina confirmed it after a VAR review, and the play resulted in the goal that sealed the academic side’s defeat, prompting the coach to even threaten to pull his team off the field.

At that time, once he had calmed down and acknowledged that the foul had indeed occurred, Costas apologized on social media and was given a one-match ban with the option to avoid missing the match by paying nearly 500,000 pesos. Since Racing already felt their coach had gotten off lightly that time—they hadn’t expected the fine as a get-out clause—they now see a reduction of the new ban as unlikely. With only the match against Argentinos already served, there may still be time for another attempt in the coming weeks.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.