Without any doubt, the semi-final between Brazil and Argentina was the most controversial match of the 2019 Copa America in Brazil. Ecuadorian referee Roddy Zambrano was in the eye of the hurricane because of decisions that would have benefited the host team.
And that performance apparently had consequences. In addition to the fierce criticism that was carried out by the Argentines, the Ecuadorian Football Federation took away his status as a FIFA referee. This was demonstrated by the list of referees nominated by the Ecuadorian football to Conmebol, where Roddy Zambrano does not appear. The other name that is no longer on the list is Omar Ponce, who retired from the refereeing. Augusto Aragon and Marlon Vera were nominated instead.
It should be remembered that in the Copa America semi-final there were two specific situations that the Argentines claimed. The first, an alleged infraction of Dani Alves on Sergio Aguero in the Brazilian penalty area. The second, and by far the most controversial, was a clear push from Arthur on Otamendi. In both situations, Zambrano was not called to review by the VAR, which led to an angry reaction from Messi, who said that "everything was fixed".
Source: BBCL
