The 42-year-old referee from Mendoza will officiate for the first time in a duel between the two biggest teams in Argentine soccer.
Andrés Merlos will referee Sunday’s Superclásico at La Bombonera between Boca Juniors and River Plate, which corresponds to the seventh date of the Professional Soccer League Cup 2023.
Despite the fact that he was not considered as one of the main candidates, Federico Beligoy, AFA’s Refereeing Director, chose him for the hottest match of the championship.
Thus, the referee from Mendoza will officiate for the first time in a duel between the two biggest teams of Argentine soccer. The other candidates were Facundo Tello, Yael Falcón Pérez, Fernando Rapallini and Nicolás Ramírez.
Merlos will be accompanied by assistants Juan Pablo Belatti and Sebastián Raineri, while the fourth official will be Ariel Penel. It is also worth mentioning that Hector Paletta and Ariel Suárez will be in charge of the VAR.
The San Rafael-born referee, who has just officiated the goalless draw between Tigre and San Lorenzo, has a positive record with both teams: six wins, four draws and two defeats with El Xeneize, and five wins, three draws and two defeats with El Millonario.
Although almost ten years have passed, the 42-year-old referee is especially remembered for the controversial Lanús 2-1 Arsenal match in 2014, in which El Granate scored two goals in stoppage time. The second of them came after 54 minutes of the second half, which sparked an angry protest from all the Viaducto players.