The TV footage leaves no doubt; five minutes from time, Radamel Falcao started approaching one Peru player after another telling them something while having his mouth covered with his hand. At that point, with the game in Lima at 1-1, both were finishing in the top five, the Colombians fourth, and the Peruvians fifth, a spot good enough to send them to intercontinental playoffs against New Zealand.
Obviously we were aware of what was going on in the other games, we were playing with knowledge of the other results and, in that moment, we wanted to make that known
Falcao told reporters, without a hint of scruples, as if discussing with your opponents the results of other matches is perfectly natural.
In the last five minutes, the Colombians approached us. They knew what the situation was in the other games. So we managed the game as we had to… I spoke with Radamel, who told me we were both in, but it’s football and we play to win
Peru international Renato Tapia told a TV station in his home country, contradicting himself, since Peru did play to win for 85 minutes, but in the last five it was obvious that they had zero intention of playing to win, passing the ball around as the Colombian players were just… following from a safe distance.
FIFA is reviewing and analysing the reports from the referees and the match commissioners for all matches in FIFA competitions. Events which require further attention may be communicated accordingly
a FIFA spokesperson told ESPN. It remains to be seen if they do something about what happened in Lima towards the end of that the World Cup qualifier between Peru and Colombia.
