Bolivian referees suspended after 132-minute football match

Palmaflor's Argentine midfielder Matias Pisano (L) and midfielder Juan Adrian (R) vie for the ball with Blooming's Venezuelan midfielder Arquimedes Figuera (C) during the Copa Sudamericana first stage football match between Bolivia's Blooming and Bolivia's Atletico Palma Flor, at the Ramón Aguilera Costas stadium in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, on March 9, 2023. Credit: AP Photos

Bolivia’s soccer federation suspended six match officials after they added 42 minutes in a professional national league match.

Palmaflor beat Blooming 3-2 on Monday in a match that was later revised by the country’s refereeing commission. The 132-minute clash took place under heavy rains in the city of Chapare, in the South American country’s heartland.

Referee Julio Gutierrez added the time due to a prolonged video review of Palmaflor’s second goal and a brawl that followed two red cards for the visitors.

The commission made the decision to suspend the officials late on Tuesday.

Blooming said on Twitter that the match officials put its players under heavy risk of injury due to “excessive added time.”

Palmaflor’s top sports executive is Bolivia’s former President Evo Morales, who said on social media his team had won the match despite “suspicious officials.”

Morales governed Bolivia between 2006-2019. The club rose to the country’s top flight division this year.