Former referee stirs up controversy in Colombia with unusual revelation: ‘Imer Machado and Oscar Julian Ruiz are Millonarios fans’

Rafael Sanabria, Former referee of Colombian Professional Football, stirred up a new controversy in the country when talking about his colleagues Óscar Julián Ruiz and Ímer Machado, two of the most remembered referees in national football.

The judge, who now serves as a panelist on the show ESPN F90 Footballspoke about how healthy it is for referees to be fans of different teams from their country and not confess their ‘colors’.

During a debate on the Premier League’s move to have referees reveal which team they support, Rafael Sanabria He explained that here in Colombia there are also referees who were from a specific club and when he was the manager he would ‘scorch’ them.

“I know cases. I will tell two examples that happened in Colombia “of referees who are fans of teams,” began the former referee of Colombian Professional Football.

Oscar Julian Ruiz is a fan of Millonarios

Sanabria explained that the former Fifa referee, Oscar Julian Ruiz, The man who was once considered the best referee in Colombia and South America is a Millonarios fan, a fact that has been known for some years. “Oscar Julián Ruiz will forgive me, he is a Millonarios fan,” he said.

But the surprise came when he explained that Ímer Machadodirector of the referees’ commission in the Colombian Football Federationis also a fan of the white and blue team. “Ímer Machado is a fan of Millonarios,” he said.

There was some astonishment among the panelists of the program, as many remembered that the former Colombian referee was always associated with National Athletic and for many years there was speculation about a possible love for the painting Verdolaga.

“Ímer once asked Carmelo Valencia for his shirt… I once told Óscar Julián: ‘Don’t whistle against Millonarios again, don’t accept those Millonarios games again.’ He was trying to show people that we knew him, his friends and colleagues, that he was going to hit Millonarios hard,” Sanabria explained.

“Oscar Julian He was putting the brakes on Millonarios, not intentionally, but to show that he was an impartial referee,” he added.

Regarding the case of Ímer Machado, he never understood why he was ‘hard on Millonarios’: “I never understood why Ímer was so hard on Millonarios…”

Rafael Sanabria also revealed a personal experience he had with his family, as his father was a fan of Ballet Azul and once complained about the refereeing: “Once I arrived from managing Millonarios, my father and my brothers were gathered at a family event, and they complained to me because Millonarios lost… They were all mad at me,” he concluded.

HAROLD YEPES

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