Sport
The Protest That Went Viral: How the Goalkeeper Reacted to the Notorious Penalty
A bizarre incident in extra time of a cup match in Bolivia: Argentine goalkeeper Gustavo Tsunota refused to attempt to stop a penalty in extra time whistled against his team Vilsterman Cooperatives against Independiente Cochabamba. Referee Carlos Artaga whistled a notorious penalty, when even attacker Junior Adiri did not claim a foul had been committed against him. The decision stood and Adiri scored 2-3...
· Source: Walla. Photo as published in the article
Vilsterman Cooperatives goalkeeper Gustavo Tsunota refused to attempt to stop a penalty in extra time that was called against his team in a cup match in Bolivia against Independiente Cochabamba, after the match referee called a foul that did not exist.
The Argentine goalkeeper Gustavo Tsunota refused to stand for a penalty in extra time called against his team Vilsterman Cooperatives in a cup match in Bolivia against Independiente Cochabamba. Referee Carlos Artaga whistled a notorious penalty, when even attacker Junior Adiri did not claim a foul had been committed against him. The decision stood, Adiri kicked in in the 25th minute of extra time and scored 2-3 in favor of the home team, while Tsunota stuck to the post and did not attempt to stop the ball.
After the match, Tsunota became a sought-after interviewee and told UNITEL: 'I think it was the right thing to do, because he can't be so irresponsible and whistle a penalty that wasn't. When I came to him with complaints, he told me: "I just whistled a penalty," and I told him that's not how it is, because we played for promotion, we played for our dream to qualify. "Come on, stop it! Stop complaining!" I thought it was outrageous that he said these things to me.'
Tsunota explained that after the whistle for the penalty and protests against the referee, he spoke with his teammates and according to him the decision was not his alone. 'The decision was not just mine, it was a joint decision. We thought about it from the moment he whistled the penalty, which was clearly unjustified. It was a form of protest, because we traveled to Cochabamba for three points and they whistled a penalty against us that didn't exist,' he said.
Tsunota said he agreed with forward Junior Adiri, a player of Atletico Independiente de Cochabamba, to intentionally miss the kick because the referee's whistle was not fair, but Adiri nevertheless scored the winning goal. 'We spoke with the forward about fair play. We acted like men, because there are also codes in football, and we were surprised that he scored the goal,' said the goalkeeper.
According to reports, Tsunota's claim was justified: Referee Artaga was suspended indefinitely after he whistled for a foul that did not exist, according to a decision by the disciplinary committee of the Bolivian Football Association. His team must now win their final match in the second round to qualify for the quarterfinals of the tournament.
