Altitude’s Collin Westby’s ejection a mistake says Premier League of Belize; he will play return leg of Finals

Photo Credit: Altitude FC

By Rubén Morales Iglesias: The Premier League of Belize said the ejection of Altitude’s Collin Westby’s in the first leg of the Premier League of Belize (PLB) Finals was a referee error, and he will be able to play the return leg on Saturday in Independence.

Collin Westby was red carded in the 44^th minute of the match at the Norman Broaster Stadium in San Ignacio by referee Efren Guy due to accumulation of two yellow cards. A review of the game video after the match proved that Altitude had been right all along in protesting that the first foul credited to Westby, which resulted in his first yellow card, was committed by their captain Dalton Eiley. Westby, who was involved in the previous play against Verdes’ Jordy Polanco at a good distance from where Colombian Camilo Márquez Fajardo was fouled, was mistakenly given the yellow card.

Later in the ball game when Westby cut down Krisean Lopez, a foul which required that both receive attention from their medical personnel, Westby was shown a second yellow card followed by a red for accumulation.

Altitude kept protesting indicating that Westby had been given the first yellow erroneously, but the booking remained unchanged even after the central referee consulted with his assistants. Westby had to abandon the field.

Despite staying with ten men, Altitude were able to hold Verdes to a 1-1 draw.

After the match at the officials technical meeting, the play was reviewed and it was acknowledged that Westby had been wrongly booked in the first instance, the yellow card was retracted, and Eiley was booked, said PLB General Manager Wilhelm Miguel. That means that Westby officially only received one yellow card, so he will be eligible to play the return match.

Normally, when a player is red carded due to accumulation of cards, that player is automatically suspended for one game. Had the card not been retracted, Westby would not have been able to play the second leg on Saturday in Independence.

According to ptotocol, the matter hasn’t been reviewed by the PLB’s Disciplinary Committee, but since the yellow card snafu was a referee error, the result stands.