Chilean FA Releases VAR Audio Explaining Penalty Call on Arturo Vidal in Superclasico

The Superclasico had already given fans plenty to talk about with Javier Correa's gesture toward the Universidad de Chile supporters. But another play kept generating debate even after the final whistle: the penalty called on Arturo Vidal that allowed Charles Aranguiz to tie the score at the Estadio Nacional. The ANFP decided to make everything transparent and released the VAR audio explaining, minute by minute, how that decision was reached.

The play sparked immediate outrage from the "King" and the entire Colo Colo squad, who felt Vidal's arm was in a natural position at the moment the ball deflected off it. Center referee Juan Lara was the one who ultimately awarded the penalty in favor of the blues after reviewing the monitor, a call that set off protests from the midfielder and his teammates the moment the infraction was signaled.

The audio reveals that it all started with Lara himself having doubts, asking for confirmation on where the ball had made contact. "Check where it hit Arturo, it could be the arm, I think it hits him on the arm but tucked against the body, Garay," the center referee is heard saying in the recording released by Chilean soccer's governing body.

From the VAR booth, the official in charge of the review, identified as Garay, was the one who made the difference in the analysis. As he explained, Vidal's arm wasn't simply tucked against his body, there was a movement that increased the player's body volume. "The player rotates his arm and ends up hitting it with his elbow. He's in one position, then rotates and opens the arm, it's not a permitted zone," was his initial read on the play.

The exchange between the two continued, and Garay kept pressing the same point before Lara went to review the footage at the edge of the field. "The hand is in an unnatural position, the elbow opens up," he stressed from the booth. With that information, and after personally watching the replay on the monitor, the center referee made his final call.

He opens his arm, I'm going with a penalty. Is it inside the box? It increases his volume, blocking a shot on goal.Juan Lara

The ANFP itself accompanied the release of the audio with a technical explanation of the protocol applied. "Since it involves a deflection inside the penalty area, the VAR must check the trajectory through different camera angles, where it's clearly detected that he deflects the ball with his right arm, increasing his body volume, and suggests the referee review it on the field," the organization detailed.

With the penalty converted, Aranguiz drew the score level in a Superclasico that ultimately went Colo Colo's way. The play, in any case, remained one of the most debated moments of the matchday, and the ANFP's decision to release the full audio was aimed, above all, at taking some heat out of a controversy that had already spilled off the field and into social media and the buildup to the rematch between the two clubs.