{"id":225766,"date":"2026-05-22T07:50:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T07:50:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/efrain-juarez-blasts-cruz-azul-and-accuses-refereeing-of-assistance\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T07:50:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T07:50:07","slug":"efrain-juarez-blasts-cruz-azul-and-accuses-refereeing-of-assistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/efrain-juarez-blasts-cruz-azul-and-accuses-refereeing-of-assistance\/","title":{"rendered":"Efra\u00edn Ju\u00e1rez Blasts Cruz Azul and Accuses Refereeing of Assistance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div>\n<div class=\"visual__image image-initial-width\">\n    <picture><source  media=\"(min-width: 1000px)\"\/><source  media=\"(min-width: 768px)\"\/><source  media=\"(min-width: 580px)\"\/><source  media=\"(min-width: 350px)\"\/><source  media=\"(min-width: 80px)\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"article-figcaption-img\">The technical director of the UNAM Pumas, Efra\u00edn Ju\u00e1rez, pointed out that the refereeing helped Cruz Azul in the league (Puma Fan\/FB)<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<h2>Contentious Statements from Efra\u00edn Ju\u00e1rez<\/h2>\n<p>The tension intensified during the opening of the <strong>Closing Final 2026<\/strong> of the <strong>Liga MX<\/strong>, as Efra\u00edn Ju\u00e1rez, the coach of Pumas UNAM, launched scathing comments against Cruz Azul. Following a goalless draw at the Ciudad de los Deportes Stadium, he accused La Maquina of attempting to <strong>pressure the referees<\/strong> and claimed that they have benefited disproportionately from referee decisions throughout the playoffs.<\/p>\n<h3>Accusations Against Cruz Azul<\/h3>\n<p>Ju\u00e1rez expressed his disbelief that a prestigious club like Cruz Azul would try to exploit such circumstances, asserting, \u201cI am surprised that an institution as large as Cruz Azul wants to take advantage of circumstances, when they have benefited the most from arbitration.\u201d His remarks came after he observed several controversial officiating calls favoring Cruz Azul during the current playoffs.<\/p>\n<h2>Controversial Highlights<\/h2>\n<p>In a press conference, Ju\u00e1rez listed specific incidents where he felt Cruz Azul had received favorable treatment. He referred to alleged uncalled penalties against teams like Atlas and Chivas, as well as a handball by Cruz Azul&#8217;s Fern\u00e1ndez that was not penalized. Ju\u00e1rez elaborated, noting, \u201cWe must not forget the handball against Atlas, where a penalty was not given.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Psychological Pressure on Referees<\/h3>\n<p>Ju\u00e1rez further asserted that Cruz Azul is attempting to psychologically manipulate the refereeing body leading up to the second leg of the final. \u201cThe audacity to complain when they are here due to those circumstances is impressive to me. Surely they do this to put pressure on the referee,\u201d he stated, raising concerns about the integrity of officiating.<\/p>\n<h2>Response from Cruz Azul<\/h2>\n<p>The backlash from Ju\u00e1rez&#8217;s comments was swift, with Joel Huiqui, the technical director of Cruz Azul, advocating for potential sanctions against Ju\u00e1rez for publicly discussing arbitration issues. Huiqui stated succinctly, \u201cThey would have to fine him because you can&#8217;t talk about arbitration.\u201d He emphasized the importance of maintaining a focus on sports rather than extraneous controversies that could taint the final.<\/p>\n<h3>The Game\u2019s Performance<\/h3>\n<p>Despite Cruz Azul generating the majority of dangerous goal-scoring opportunities during the match, Pumas\u2019 goalkeeper Keylor Navas proved to be an outstanding asset, making critical saves and keeping the game scoreless. This solid defense allowed Pumas to stay in contention for the title heading into the second leg.<\/p>\n<h2>Looking Ahead<\/h2>\n<p>With the final showdown set to take place at the Estadio Olimpico Universitario, excitement is high among fans and players alike. The mutual accusations between the two coaches have only served to heighten the anticipation for the decisive match, as both teams aim for victory.<\/p>\n<p>The series not only promises intense action on-field but also heightened emotional stakes off-field, as the thought of refereeing decisions looms large in the minds of both teams.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/category\/general\/\" rel=\"dofollow\">General News &#8211; 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The technical director of the UNAM Pumas, Efra\u00edn Ju\u00e1rez, pointed out that the refereeing helped Cruz Azul in the league (Puma Fan\/FB) Contentious Statements from Efra\u00edn Ju\u00e1rez The tension intensified during the opening of the Closing Final 2026 of the Liga MX, as Efra\u00edn Ju\u00e1rez, the coach of Pumas UNAM, launched scathing comments against Cruz [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":225767,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[3603,4453,39461,27211,27210,37156,36947,36756,7295,9951,36767,21],"class_list":["post-225766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mazagine","tag-accuses","tag-assistance","tag-azul","tag-blasts","tag-cruz","tag-efrain","tag-juarez","tag-north-america","tag-refereeing","tag-soccer","tag-south-america-central-america","tag-sport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225766"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":225768,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225766\/revisions\/225768"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}