Almost a week before the most important match of the season, Fluminense and Boca Juniors already know the referee of the final. The Colombian Wilmar Roldán will be in charge of dispensing justice in the decisive match of the Copa Libertadores 2023, which will be played on Saturday, November 4 from 5:00 p.m. (local time) at the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
The Uruguayan Esteban Ostojich and the Chilean Piero Maza appeared as other candidates, but CONMEBOL finally leaned towards the 43-year-old referee. Roldán will be accompanied by Alexander Guzmán (assistant 1), Dionisio Ruiz (assistant 2), Andrés Rojas (fourth referee) and Wilmar Navarro (fifth referee), also from Colombia.
Meanwhile, the VAR will be in charge of the Chilean Juan Lara, along with his compatriots Ángelo Hermosilla (VAR1) and Edson Cisternas (VAR2), as well as the Colombian Jhon Ospina (VAR3). The Uruguayan Darío Ubriaco (International Advisor) and the Ecuadorian Wilson Ávila (Quality Manager) complete the shortlist.
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Background of Roldán, the referee of the final
Although it will be the first time that he is in charge of a single-match final, Roldán already has experience in Libertadores finals. He officiated three decisive games in consecutive years. First, he delivered justice in the rematch between Corinthians and Boca in 2012, when the São Paulo team lifted the trophy. The following year, he was responsible for refereeing the second leg final between Atlético Mineiro and Olimpia, in which Galo won on penalties. In 2014, he was in the first leg between Nacional of Paraguay and San Lorenzo, which ended 1-1.
On the other hand, both finalists had the Colombian as a referee in this edition. Roldán was the referee of the first leg semi-final between Xeneize and Palmeiras (0-0), while he coached Flu twice in the group stage: he was in Tricolor’s 3-1 victory against Sporting Cristal in Peru in the debut, in addition to being in charge in the 2-0 defeat of Fernando Diniz’s team against River Plate in Buenos Aires.
🔜🇦🇷🇧🇷 We're 2⃣ weeks from the CONMEBOL #Libertadores Final in Rio de Janeiro! ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/2Z6vgaFzb1
— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@TheLibertadores) October 21, 2023
Samba Gold 2023: Open voting!
Voting for the Samba Gold Award 2023 is now open. Choose your favorite in the men’s, women’s and under-20 categories!
