Nicolás Lamolina will officiate a match between Defensa y Justicia and Belgrano on Friday, February 20th, marking his return to central refereeing duties after a suspension stemming from a controversial performance in a match between Barracas Central and Boca last October.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) announced the officiating assignments for the sixth date of the Apertura Tournament on Wednesday. Lamolina’s appointment comes after he was sidelined following criticism of his handling of the Barracas Central-Boca fixture, where he failed to issue two clear red cards to Barracas players, according to reports at the time. Federico Beligoy, the national director of Arbitration, made the decision to suspend Lamolina from officiating as a central referee or as part of the VAR team for the 14th date of matches.
Lamolina’s team for the Defensa y Justicia-Belgrano match includes Pablo Gualtieri and Federico Lapalma as assistant referees, Lucas Comesaña as the fourth official, Joaquin Gil on VAR, and Pablo Dóvalo as AVAR.
Andrés Merlos is assigned to officiate the match between Estudiantes and Sarmiento, also on Friday. Leandro Rey Hilfer will oversee the Boca-Racing match, while Fernando Espinoza will be in charge of Instituto versus Atlético Tucumán. Andrés Gariano will referee Gimnasia (Mza.) against Gimnasia, and Sebastián Zunino will officiate Rosario Central’s match against Talleres.
The schedule continues on Saturday with matches including Platense-Barracas Central, Independiente Rivadavia-Independiente, Deportivo Riestra-Huracán, and Banfield-Newell’s. Sunday’s matches feature San Lorenzo-Estudiantes (Río Cuarto), Vélez-River, and Unión-Aldosivi. The match between Argentinos and Lanús is yet to be confirmed.
