Abel sees refereeing shift after Palmeiras v São Paulo controversy

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·26. November 2025

Abel sees refereeing shift after Palmeiras v São Paulo controversy

Abel Ferreira once again criticized the refereeing in Brazilian football after Palmeiras was defeated 3-2 by Grêmio this Tuesday (25th), at Arena do Grêmio, in the 36th round of the Brasileirão. The coach stated that a lot has changed in the national tournament after the refereeing controversies in the match between Palmeiras and São Paulo in October.

– After the game against São Paulo, a lot changed, and if that penalty had been awarded, our goalkeeper would have saved it and we would have turned the game around, and everything that has happened until now wouldn't have happened – he said, beginning a strong outburst.

Abel, however, stressed that the criticism does not apply to the match against Flamengo in the Libertadores, since that competition is organized by Conmebol and not by the CBF. He added that the team's mentality will not be shaken before the continental final and listed mistakes against the team in recent rounds.

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– One thing is Brazilian football, the Brasileirão, and everything that happens in this competition. Another thing is the Libertadores. They are completely different championships. Completely different managements. – Today the referee had no doubt in awarding the two penalties. He didn't give a yellow card for a clear foul, at the edge of the box, on Felipe Anderson, a lot of responsibility on us for mistakes we made. – After that penalty, a lot changed, the referee was under pressure, I wonder if the others were afraid to call the penalty that happened (and wasn't given at Maracanã), which was very similar to the one given to Arrascaeta in the first round. Is there a difference between the ball that hit the Vitória player's arm? But I repeat, one thing is the CBF competitions and another is CONMEBOL's.

Finally, he also analyzed the 90 minutes against Grêmio. Even with a reserve team after resting 11 players already thinking about the Libertadores final, he said he liked the attitude in the first half, but criticized the individual mistakes in the second half.

– We had a beautiful first half, we started very well. It's a pity that, in the final third, the decisions and finishes didn't lead us to a different outcome. It was extremely unfair to go into halftime having conceded a goal from a throw-in. Then, in the second half, the game became balanced. And then... You can't commit a penalty like that.

What now?

Even with the defeat, Palmeiras remains alive in the fight for the Brazilian Championship, since Flamengo did not beat Atlético-MG this Tuesday – a 1-1 draw. Now, Verdão remains stuck at 70 points in 36 games, compared to Flamengo's 75, with six points still up for grabs in the last two rounds.

Verdão has gone five games without a win, with three losses and two draws. In the next round, on Wednesday (3rd), Verdão faces Atlético-MG away, while Flamengo hosts Ceará at Maracanã.

Before that, Palmeiras and Flamengo will face each other in the Libertadores final, this Saturday (29th) at 6pm (Brasília time), in Lima, Peru.