We were robbed – Peru blame referee for Argentine loss

Peruvian media on Sunday ganged up on referee Bolivian Rene Ortube after Saturday’s World Cup qualifying loss in Argentina, alleging he “robbed” them of a result.

Peru, who had no chance of reaching the finals even ahead of the game, were already sore after Martin Palermo scored Argentina’s winner in stoppage time to keep Diego Maradona’s side in the hunt for the fourth and final automatic regional qualifying spot.

And several newspapers insisted the Peruvians should have had two penalties in depicting Ortube as the villain of the piece in a 2-1 loss.

“We were robbed!” was the headline in Todo Sport and also Peru21, while Correo preferred “barefaced robbery.”

Ojo tabloid alluded to the Andean regional rivalry between Peru and Bolivia – once the same territory – as well as to Bolivian President Evo Morales in headlining: “One of Evo’s compatriots robbed us of the match.”

Morales, a member of Bolivia’s indigenous indian majority, and Peruvian counterpart Alan Garcia have on several occasions been at loggerheads.

Ortube did not award Peru a penalty on 57 minutes when Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze appeared to elbow Peru veteran winger Nolberto Solano.

“(Argentina) benefited from a clear penalty in the area which referee Ortube did not blow for in a critical decision,” wrote Emilio Laferranderie, a Uruguayan reporter working for El Comercio.

Laferranderie added that Maradona’s team, who need a result at Uruguay in their final match to hang on for a berth next summers finals, “did not function either at the back, in midfield or up front.”.

Ortube reaped further opprobrium after allowing Palermo’s 92nd-minute goal when in Peruvian reporters’ eyes he was offside.

The media also accused the referee of preferring to blow the final whistle rather than award the Peruvians a spotkick at the death for an apparent foul in the Argentine box.