The referee of the controversial final in Chile: ”The most unfair match in history”

The referee of the controversial match in the final of the Chile Open, Honorio García, gives the Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo his point of view after the refereeing error.
— I don't blame Galán. He did what he had to do because he is a professional. The mistake is mine, he says.

The final of the World Padel Tour Chile Open, between Tapia/Coello and Lebron and Galan, had a controversial outcome, to say the least.

After a refereeing error, which deprived Tapia and Coello of winning the title in two sets, the match was defined in a third set, where the young talents finally prevailed.

Now, the referee of that match - and responsible for the controversy - Honorio García, spoke to Mundo Deportivo about the scandal: 

— It is clear that everything comes from my mistake. I do not blame Galán he did what he had to do because he is a professional," he says.

The moment of the mistake

The referee's error came when the match was 5-4 in the second set in favor of the Spanish-Argentine pair, and Coello was leading 30-30. A volley by Coello that went into the last centimeters of the court was called bad by Garcia.

— That action seems terrible to me because it sounds like glass. It took me a while to call, but as no player reacted badly, I call what I see, which is 30-40.

The players continued to play normally, assuming the point had been good. In the next play, a smash by Tapia 'finished' the match.

— None of the four players said anything, and the next point was taken. When it ends, which is for Coello and Tapia, I see that they hug each other, celebrating the match. At the same time, Lebron ends the match because he is going to shake hands with them. That's when I realized that I got confused about the previous point.

Alejandro Galán's claim

The referee, realizing the mistake, also ended the match, but that's when everything became chaotic. Alejandro Galán, who returned to the court after trying to recover Tapia's shot, claimed the point to the referee, which led to García having to modify his decision.

— As the players take for granted that they have won and salute each other, I also end it and call the game, set, and match. Then Galán enters the court and says that I had done wrong and that he put it on the scoreboard. He tells me that he has heard 30-40. And he is correct. It is not the same to have two break points as two match points against. There I can no longer rectify it because he was right.

”The most unfair match in history."

While taking the blame, Garcia considers that an accumulation of situations propitiated the final consequence. The absence of Tapia and Coello's complaint about the referee's mistake, the players' salute at the end of the match, and of course, Galán's complaint.

— Ale was partly right, and I think it is unfair to lynch him. If he saw it wrong and took advantage of it, that's another thing. Only he knows that. He doesn't see it very clearly because he has his back on the action, and everything happens quickly.

Finally, for the referee, it is not the error that leads to the subsequent "catastrophe" but the moment in which it occurred.

— The mistake is not so important; its consequence is catastrophic. It does not lead to anything if it happens at 1-1 in the first set. It happened in a final and with a tournament point, imagine.

He adds:

— For me, it is the most unfair match in history. And thank goodness it ended the way it had to end. And let it be clear that I don't care who wins

Watch the controversial point here.