The Spot

Watch the Blatant Handball That Eliminated Brazil From Copa America

Brazil needed a win or draw against Peru to finish at the top of its group and advance to the quarterfinals of the Copa America Centenario. Instead, the Brazilians lost 1–0 and are out of the tournament, eliminated by the hand of Peruvian striker Raúl Mario Ruidíaz. Ruidíaz, the Peruvian Maradona, fisted the ball into the back of the net in the 75th minute, and referee Andres Cunha eventually allowed the goal to stand. While the infraction was obvious once you saw it in slow motion, it’s hard to blame the referee for failing to see it in real time. The rules of the game, too, didn’t allow him to correct his mistake. While Copa America is using instant-reply technology to review whether the ball crosses the plane of the goal line, handballs are not reviewable. And unlike the European Championship, Copa America does not have extra referees stationed on the goal line.

While this was an unjust result, it wasn’t that unjust. With Neymar out of the squad at his club team Barcelona’s request, the Brazilians looked crummy all tournament, failing to score against both Peru and Ecuador. This was Peru’s first win against Brazil since 1985, and this is Brazil’s earliest exit from a Copa America tournament since 1993. Brazil will now look forward to the Olympics in Rio, when Neymar will be back on the field and Dunga—the manager who presided over this feeble effort—might no longer be on the sidelines.

Read more Slate coverage of Euro 2016 and Copa America.