Bolivian referees suspended after 42 minutes of stoppage time

Bolivia’s football federation suspended six match officials after they added 42 minutes to a top-flight game.

Palmaflor defeated Blooming 3-2 on Monday in a game later revised by the country’s referees committee. The 132-minute duel took place amid heavy rains in the city of Chapare, in the heart of the South American country.

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Referee Julio Gutierrez added the time due to a lengthy video review of Palmaflor’s second goal and a brawl that followed two red cards for the visitors.

Palmaflor’s winning goal came in the 38th minute of added time.

The commission made the decision late Tuesday to suspend the officers.

Blooming said on Twitter that match officials were putting their players at high risk of injury due to “excessive stoppage time”.

Palmaflor’s top sports manager is Bolivia’s former President Evo Morales, who took to social media to say his team won the game despite “suspicious officials”.

Morales ruled Bolivia between 2006-2019. The club was promoted to the country’s Primera Division that year.