Pedro Chaluja Claims Panama-Mexico Was Fixed, Calls for CONCACAF Investigation

Panamanian Football Federation President Pedro Chaluja thinks the nation's Gold Cup loss to Mexico on Wednesday was fixed as a result of its vote against Sepp Blatter in the FIFA elections. He's now seeking an investigation from both CONCACAF and FIFA into the fixture.

Chaluja believes the crucial calls that went against the Canaleros throughout the 2-1 extra-time loss showed a deliberate attempt to ensure a Mexican victory, according to ESPN FC.

"Sadly, we share the disillusion of having to call attention to the poor refereeing decisions that were deliberate and motivated by an intention to protect third parties," he said. "It is our perception that this match was fixed and not by the Mexican Football Federation but rather by others."

He said the result of the situation was being "robbed of a victory and having our entire country's illusion shattered." The president also explained the supposed connection to Blatter.

"Today someone told us that this has happened because we voted against Blatter. It is up to us to demand an investigation," Chaluja said.

Soccer legend Diego Maradona came to Panama's aid as well, per Marca, saying, "I express my solidarity with the players of Panama. The match should be replayed and the referee should be fired."

Thomas Floyd of Goal USA provided a statement from CONCACAF:

The highly controversial match saw Panama receive a red card to Luis Tejada, the team's leading international goalscorer, just 24 minutes into the match.

It ended up taking the lead anyway shortly before the hour mark, as Roman Torres scored while Mexico struggled to take advantage of the extra man. The score remained 1-0 until the final minutes of the match, when chaos broke out.

Referee Mark Geiger made an extremely questionable penalty decision against Torres, who appeared to get fouled before losing his balance and possibly making slight hand contact with the ball in the box. The Canaleros went crazy, and fans started littering the field with garbage, causing a lengthy delay.

Jere Longman of the New York Times reported Mexican manager Miguel Herrera didn't believe a penalty should have been awarded. He also noted Andres Guardado, who converted the spot kick, told a Mexican outlet he considered missing it on purpose because the call left him with a "bad taste."

Instead, the match went to extra time, where Mexico was awarded another penalty. Even though it wasn't as controversial, it sparked further outrage from the Panamanian side. Guardado scored again, and Mexico ended up advancing to the championship match as a result.

Although making claims of match-fixing sends a strong statement, there's no doubt Panama received unfavorable treatment in the semifinal. It's rare two prominent members of an opponent openly admit a call that saved their tournament life didn't sit well with them.

Even if Panama is granted an investigation by CONCACAF, FIFA or both, it's not going to overturn the result. That means that rather than playing for the trophy, the Canaleros will go up against the United States for third place Sunday.

Winning that match wouldn't be much of a consolation prize given the lingering disappointment and frustration that's clearly present in Chaluja's comments.