Pezzotta received death threats

In less than a week after the Copa Libertadores final, Sergio Pezzotta, refereed the Argentinian relegation play-off match between River Plate and Belgrano, where he received death threats from the home side's fans during the half-time interval.

River Plate were relegated to the second division of the Argentine league after being unable to turn around a 2-0 deficit from the first-leg of the play-off. The Argentine giants were 1-0 up at the break and needed one more goal to level the tie, and some of the River fans broke into the referee's dressing room to make sure the club would not go down. "If you do not give us a penalty, you will not leave the stadium alive. Give us a penalty or we are going to kill you," Pezzotta was told, according to a report sent by the referee to the Argentine Football Federation (AFA). Pezzotta did award River a penalty late in the second-half, but Mariano Pavone spurned the opportunity. In light of this report, in which Pezzotta also wrote he decided to end the match prematurely due to "the lack of safety guarantees", River Plate could be docked some points next season, which would see them start the campaign behind all the other clubs.

Source: TyC Sports