Referee Draws Suspension

Byron Moreno, the controversial referee from Ecuador who added 13 minutes of injury time in a Sunday match between Barcelona of Guayaquil and Liga de Quito that enabled Liga to score two late goals to pull out a win, has received a 20-game suspension.

Moreno is also under investigation by Ecuador’s soccer authorities and could face a lifetime ban.

Barcelona President Leonardo Bohrer claimed that Moreno was mixing politics and soccer in the match since Moreno is a candidate in October elections for a spot on the Quito City Council.

“It’s not ethical for him to continue being a referee, especially in a province in which he is a candidate,” Bohrer told Reuters. “The supporters of Liga de Quito are voters in his province.”

Bohrer also claimed that the refereeing commission was unhappy with Moreno’s match report, in which he allegedly gave false information on the minutes in which Liga scored its two late goals.

Moreno also sent off two players and caused confusion by first awarding a goal and then disallowing it during the match.

He signaled six minutes of injury time but played 13, during which Liga scored twice--in the 99th and 101st minutes--to get the 4-3 win.

The Ecuadorean Football Federation Web site announced that Moreno had admitted an error and that “it’s human to make mistakes.”

It’s not the first time this summer that Moreno has been embroiled in controversy.

At the World Cup, Moreno issued a red card to Italian striker Francesco Totti and disallowed what would have been a game-winning goal by Damiano Tommasi in Italy’s eventual 2-1 tournament-ending loss to co-host South Korea.

Mexico Talks

Argentine Carlos Bianchi, coach of Boca Juniors, has reportedly met with Mexican Soccer Federation President Alberto de la Torre to discuss the Mexican national team job.

Other candidates to be mentioned prominently in the Mexican press include local favorite Hugo Sanchez, who is coaching Pumas in the Mexican league.

Bianchi has coached in France (Reims, Niza and Paris), Italy (Roma) and Argentina (Velez, Sarsfield and Boca Juniors) and has won Copa Libertadores titles in 1994, 2000 and 2001.

Mexican officials plan on filling the position, left vacant when Javier Aguirre left to take over Spain’s Club Atletico Osasuna, within two months.

Marquez Ban Reduced

Mexico defender Rafael Marquez had his four-game suspension reduced to three games by the FIFA Appeal Committee on Wednesday.

Marquez had been suspended from national team games after earning a red card for head-butting Cobi Jones in Mexico’s 2-0 loss to the United States at the World Cup.

FIFA also upheld the six-month ban on Tunisia’s Skander Souayah, who was suspended April 22 for doping.

Munoz Sacked

Villareal Coach Victor Munoz was fired Wednesday, a day after his Spanish first-division team’s embarrassing 2-1 loss to third-division Hercules in the first round of the King’s Cup.