In 2015, Melgar celebrated its 100th anniversary by winning the national title. However, seven years after this achievement, an unusual fact was revealed. It turns out that Brian Sarmiento, former player of Real Garcilaso (now called Cusco FC), revealed in an interview that the imperial team was a victim of corruption in the semifinal match against Melgar.
During an interview on the YouTube channel Ezzequiel, the 32-year-old footballer was asked about the darkest moment he has experienced in his career. In response, the player referred to Peruvian football. The Argentine midfielder indicated that the "referees in Peru are quite corrupt" due to an incident he experienced in that defining instance played in Arequipa.
"The team was five years old and the president was a bit of a 'big mouth.' We had a great team, we were the revelation of the tournament. We played the first semifinal against Melgar, who was celebrating its 100th anniversary. So, in the second half, I asked to be substituted to play the return leg (...) I knew that there the referees are quite corrupt in every way," he said at first.
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Seconds later, Brian Sarmiento affirmed that the main referee of the match - who was Diego Haro - showed him the red card in the final minutes when he was sitting on the bench. According to the footballer, the justification given by the referee was that "they cannot become champions."
"So, I'm sitting on the bench, the referee approaches me and shows me the red card (...) I ask the referee about the red card and he tells me, 'Sorry, the thing is that you can't become champions and I had to send you off' (...) I was given a three-match suspension in case we qualified for the final," he concluded.
That match played at the Monumental de la UNSA was favorable for the team led by Juan Reynoso at that time, as they won 1-0. In the return match, held in Cusco, Real Garcilaso was defeated 4-0 and said goodbye to the title.