In the afternoon of 15 July 1979, Pedro Castellino and his assistant referees, Oscar Lopez and Carlos Luna, refereed the match between Lujan Sport Club and Independiente Rivadavia corresponding to the official tournament of the Mendoza Soccer League (Argentina). The game was going through normal circumstances until, in the second half, the referee Castellino awarded an indirect free kick for Lujan, instead of the penalty kick demanded by the locals. The protests turned into insults and the referee sent off two players and their coach. Police entered the field to calm down the players, when the Sub-Inspector Officer Salinas exchanged a few words with Castellino and both went to the locker room. In less than 5 minutes, the police officer reported that "The Code of Offenses of the province of Mendoza, articles 24 and 55, was applied to Castellino and, therefore, the match has been suspended and the referee is detained." The astonishment was general and the public, which filled the Lujan stadion (about 4,000 people), left in order without causing any excesses, after hearing the announcement of the match suspension, from the stadium speakers.
Pedro Castellino was attributed the infraction of article 94 of the Code of Offences, which said: “The judges and referees, who, due to negligent performance, provoke by their attitude incidents between players or the public, which due to their magnitude made the suspension necessary of the sporting event, will be punished with arrests of up to 10 days and a fine of 100 pesos”. After they held him in the deputy commissioner's office for two hours following his arrest, the referee was taken to another police station to take his fingerprints. At 9:15 pm, Castellino, along with his lawyer and all the people who supported him, were able to leave the police station where he had been detained for more than 3 hours. The lawyer of the referee announced "once the police action is finished, he will settle the matter before the Judge of Peace in the Palace of Justice, ensuring that there will be evidence that will prove my client right."
The incident of this arrest remained as a historical fact in local and national football. Castellino, 31 years old at the time, continued to referee important matches, was a prosperous merchant, and became a beloved teacher. He was president of the Referees Committee of the Mendocina League and the Sanjuanina League, was appointed National Instructor by the AFA, served as a professor at the School of Sports Journalism and for many years he was also a radio journalist on several stations with his program El Tribunal of the referees. On 21 September 2020, at the age of 71, he left this life full of memories, anecdotes and that striking fact of his arrest on a football field.
Source: El Sol
