Fluminense coach Fernando Diniz slammed the Colombian referee Andrés Rojas on Thursday, calling his decision to validate Álex Arce's goal for Liga de Quito in the first leg of the Sudamericana Supercup "a blatant error."

"In my opinion, he was offside," Diniz said about the controversial play, initially ruled offside by the linesman but later awarded as a goal to the home team after a VAR consultation.

"The match was clearly influenced by the refereeing, right at the end," the Brazilian coach snapped, visibly annoyed by the referee's decision, which came in added time.

Diniz insisted that the match was "unfortunately tainted" by the referee's performance.

Regarding his team's performance, Diniz noted that "it's always tough" to play in Quito, "because the altitude seems harmless but the players feel it a lot."

"The guys managed to play with intelligence against a team that's in good shape, which didn't win the Sudamericana Cup by chance," Diniz pointed out.

Experienced player Felipe Melo also expressed bitterness about the defeat.

"We played against a strong opponent, against the altitude, and against the interference of the referee," Melo noted.

"I rarely talk about referees because making mistakes is human, but today it wasn't just me. There's a bitter feeling, but we have to work because we have the return leg at Maracanã, and there we are stronger," he added.

The player also criticized the journalists present in the press room at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium for not asking questions about the referee.

"Is nobody going to ask a question about the referee and what happened in this match? Did nobody see what happened? For heaven's sake. We are professionals, we have families, and we've traveled for six hours. This is our life. Does nobody say anything?" he concluded.