Something unusual occurred during the Round of 16 in the 2023 Leagues Cup. Club America was eliminated from the tournament due to a historic VAR scandal, which resulted in them being denied victory and the win being awarded to Nashville SC.
Club America is one of the biggest clubs in Mexico. They arrived to the 2023 Leagues Cup as true contenders, but they struggled to maintain their tag of favorites throughout the entire tournament.
In the Round of 16, the Azulcremas faced off against Nashville SC. They pushed the game into penalty shootouts after an impressive comeback, but the VAR ultimately negated their victory and awarded it to the MLS club following a thorough review.
VAR denies Club America’s victory over Nashville SC after historic scandal
The 2023 Leagues Cup has posed significant challenges for Mexican teams. Despite being a strong contender to win the tournament, Club America was eliminated in the Round of 16 by Nashville SC, which received assistance from VAR to advance to the next round.
With the game tied 2-2 in the 90 minutes, both clubs had to take the match to the penalty shootouts to see who would advance to the next phase. This is where things got bizarre.
With the score 5-4 in favor of Club America, Jack Maher had the decisive penalty. However, he missed it due to an excellent save by Luis Malagon. His teammates rushed towards him to celebrate the presumed victory, though it was prematurely done.
After nearly five minutes, the VAR informed the referee that Malagon hadn’t kept both feet on the line. Club America’s players couldn’t believe it and began to argue, as they had already started celebrating their victory.
The referee adhered to the instructions and ordered a retake of Maher’s penalty, which he successfully converted on his second attempt. Subsequently, Jonathan dos Santos failed to score, whereas Daniel Lovitz capitalized on the opportunity and successfully placed the ball into the goal, securing the victory for Nashville SC.
The players from the Mexican side were clearly displeased with this decision, as they believed that the VAR took an excessive amount of time to review the play. Nonetheless, Malagon’s positioning was indeed improper, justifying the referee’s decision to order a retake of Maher’s attempt.
