Abel: There’s an asterisk on Libertadores final, Piquerez sent off | OneFootball

Abel Ferreira congratulated Flamengo after their victory in the Brazilian Championship, but did not fail to make his remarks about the refereeing and about the season in general, following Palmeiras' 3-0 win over Atlético-MG. The Palmeiras coach took a jab at his rival, recalling the controversial incident in the Libertadores final and comparing it to the sending off of Piquerez in Wednesday's match, in the 34th round of the Brasileirão.

“Today, there was an incident on the field exactly like what happened in the Libertadores final. The titles I won at Palmeiras have no asterisks. And to the Palmeiras fans, I’ll say this: as your coach, only those I want can fool me,” he declared.

“Yes, we lost, we were runners-up. This year, we were runners-up in almost every competition, but did you see the kiss I gave that medal? It was a kiss on the medal and on the Palmeiras badge. I’m proud to be at Palmeiras and to be a Palmeiras supporter. There are no asterisks. We win, we lose, we play badly, but I’m proud to be from Palmeiras. We played on the field as best as we could. How many times have you heard me say it would be against everything and everyone, that after the game against São Paulo a lot changed?” he continued.

Piquerez and Pulgar Incidents

Piquerez was sent off still in the first half of Atlético-MG vs Palmeiras, when Verdão was already leading 2-0. The full-back made a tackle on Saravia and was first shown a yellow card. However, VAR suggested a review and, after reviewing the incident, the referee showed the red card.

The Libertadores final, won by Flamengo 1-0 over Palmeiras, had a controversial moment when Pulgar tackled Bruno Fuchs’ leg but only received a yellow card. On that occasion, the referee didn’t even go to the monitor to review the play.

Abel recalls card annulment for Flamengo and takes a jab

In the Libertadores quarterfinals, Gonzalo Plata, a Flamengo forward, received a red card in the first leg. The Rio club believed the sending off was a mistake, requested the annulment of the warning, and had their request granted by Conmebol.

Abel Ferreira recalled an incident when Andreas Pereira received a yellow card against Vitória, even though he hadn’t touched the opponent. In the same game, the midfielder complained to the referee, received another warning, and was suspended for the next match.

“For us, no one overturned Andreas’ penalty because he got a yellow for a play that wasn’t even a yellow. Do you remember that? Congratulations to Flamengo, they were the winners of this competition, the Libertadores, they have an excellent squad and coach. A very well-organized club, but I am very proud of the runner-up finishes I had and have for everything we did. I know what we did and you saw the same as I did. Can a sending off affect the result of a game? I don’t know…” he concluded.

Situation in the Brasileirão

Flamengo won the Brazilian Championship by beating Ceará 1-0 and reaching 78 points. Meanwhile, Palmeiras reached 73 and remains in second place.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.