Referee “Gato” Ortiz about to come to blows with a Pachuca player

The international referee Marco Antonio “Gato” Ortiz was once again involved in the maelstrom of controversy when he confronted Pachuca’s Argentine defender Gustavo Cabral in an argument generated by the referee’s markings that the player judged were affecting the visiting team and that ended up leading to a face-to-face confrontation between the referee and the South American player.

Ortiz started to get into trouble after an action by Venezuelan Pachuca forward Salomón Rondón when he hit an opponent’s face with his arm, causing bleeding and resulting in the expulsion of the Tuzos attacker when the players of this team thought that the action was accidental.

This began to heat up the spirits and as Mazatlán was overtaking them on the field, things escalated to the point that moments later the referee called a foul that again The Tuzos players described the account as exaggerated and gave rise to an argument between Ortiz and Cabral to the point that the referee used his hands to separate the aforementioned player from his body.

Once expelled, Gustavo Cabral faced Gato Ortiz and both ended up head to head; the central referee had to push the footballer and shouted at him not to touch him. This inflamed the mood on the pitch and the South American lost his head and behaved like a madman to the point that his teammates separated them so that the matter would not escalate.

Without a doubt, the two-goal disadvantage that Pachuca had at that moment when they were down 0-2 led to the expulsions. At minute 41 and 42 of the first half, leaving the Tuzos with nine men and provoking all kinds of complaints from the members of the Tuzos who felt affected by the arbitration of the aforementioned Nazarene.

We will have to wait for the referee’s report that Marco Antonio Ortiz himself does and If, as a result of this, the Disciplinary Committee will decide whether to initiate an investigation to get to the bottom of the matter and determine responsibilities.

It should be noted that two tournaments ago the whistleblower Fernando “Curro” Hernandez sHe was involved in a similar matter with a León player, where the referee delivered a knee strike that cost the aforementioned referee a 15-match suspension in an unprecedented event in the Liga MX and that put the referee’s career on the scaffold.

For now, Mazatlán achieved its first victory of the Apertura 2024 tournament with goals from Luis Sánchez, Brian Rubio and Josué Colmán, to maintain the level they showed in the Leagues Cup and which allowed them to reach the quarter-finals.

For their part, the Tuzos suffered their third defeat of the championship and for the moment will sleep in position 14, but they could fall even further if the results are combined. On the next date, Pachuca will receive Gallos Blancos del Querétaro at the Hidalgo Stadium who are also not having a good time in the 2024 Apertura tournament, while Mazatlán FC will repeat as local, now against Puebla.

Continue reading:
-Referee Marco Antonio “Gato” Ortiz applied different criteria in Liga MX and in the Leagues Cup
-Edgardo Codesal and Arturo Brizio rule out a “black hand” in the absence of “Gato” Ortiz in the 2024 Copa América
-Marco Antonio Ortiz is awarded as the best referee of the 2024 Clausura tournament of the Liga MX