Two days after the final whistle at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Club América are still arguing about the refereeing of the Clásico Capitalino, and Kevin Álvarez has put the complaint in its sharpest form.
Álvarez was booked in the first-half scuffle that produced four yellow cards in one sequence. His objection is the red card that César Huerta did not receive for his headbutt on Álvarez in the same passage of play.
“He gives a yellow for a few shoves, a few complaints, and I do not understand how a headbutt did not merit at minimum the second yellow and obviously a straight red,” Álvarez said after the match.
What César Ramos Decided
Referee César Arturo Ramos booked Huerta, Robert Morales, Álvarez and Erick Sánchez in the scuffle and sent nobody off. The yellow shown to Sánchez was his fifth of the tournament, and it leaves him set to miss the Jornada 17 visit to Tigres UANL under the automatic accumulation rule.
The controversy did not end there. Pumas had a Morales goal ruled out for a tight offside before halftime, and América led twice on the night, through Alejandro Zendejas and a Henry Martín penalty, before Morales converted a late penalty of his own for the 2-2 draw.
Almada: Referees “End Up Handing Out Injustices”
Guillermo Almada attacked the officiating for the second straight week. His central complaint was the late Pumas penalty, awarded with América leading 2-1 in the closing minutes.
“The match ended up being decided by a play that is clearly not a penalty. We watched it, and I struggle to believe the referee and the VAR. I do not like to complain, but an unpunished sending off and a penalty end up being decisive. They condition the result,” Almada said.
He went further, arguing that the narrative around his club now shapes decisions against it. With the media pressure that referees favor América, he said, officials want to show they do not benefit anyone and end up handing out injustices.
Martín Asks What VAR Is For
Captain Henry Martín made the same point from the mixed zone. América, he said, are tired of it, and he had put the question to Ramos directly during the match.
“I told César, a World Cup referee like him, it is incredible that these things get past him. What is VAR supposed to be for? We have the most important tool, with five or six cameras from different angles. They should not be afraid to use it, for or against,” Martín said.
Solari Answers Back
Pumas coach Esteban Solari rejected the idea that his team had been helped. Speaking after Almada, he said it is hard to talk without analyzing the match coolly, and that his own sensation was the opposite.
Solari pointed to the disallowed goal and to a second-half incident he considered a clear penalty on Pedro Vite, which he said went uncalled before América’s penalty. The play ended with a yellow card for Vite instead.
“I do not think they benefit us. This year we have not been a benefited team. I am not complaining, but nothing has benefited us. Quite the opposite,” Solari said.
The Media Splits
The loudest outside voice belonged to David Faitelson, who aimed his criticism at Almada rather than the referee in a post on X.
“Mr. Almada talks about the refereeing. He should have self-criticism and understand that his América is not closing the tournament well, does not defend properly and does not play like a possible champion,” Faitelson wrote.
In further posts he argued that the scuffle itself had not merited a sending off. He described the contact as a forehead lean in a general brawl and praised Ramos for sending nobody off.
As of Monday evening, América had filed no formal complaint and the Disciplinary Commission had not responded. Its Jornada 16 report has still not been published, two days after the match.
The row has a practical edge for Álvarez himself. The league’s official record has him on four yellow cards for the tournament, so a booking at Tigres UANL on November 21 would suspend him for the first leg of the quarterfinals.
