Fans recall Textor’s accusations after Boto’s comments on refereeing | OneFootball

After the statements by José Boto, football director of Flamengo, social media recalled the accusations made by American John Textor, owner of the SAF of Botafogo. Last Sunday, the Rubro-negro executive criticized the refereeing in the match between Palmeiras and São Paulo.

“Everything that happens on other fields is shameful. We tried to talk to the CBF, to the president, to the president of the Refereeing Commission, but it stays the same. What happens raises suspicions. The referee who harmed us on Thursday (against Cruzeiro) was rewarded with officiating our rival and did what he did. I am not accusing anyone, but this doesn’t smell right to me. Some referee one way for one team and another way for another,” said José Boto after Flamengo’s defeat to Bahia.

Controversies in Palmeiras vs São Paulo

This Sunday, at Morumbis, after falling behind 2-0, Palmeiras came from behind and won the derby against São Paulo 3-2. However, the Tricolor Paulista complained heavily about the refereeing decisions in two key moments of the match: a possible penalty by Allan on Gonzalo Tapia and the possible sending off of Andreas Pereira for a studs-up challenge on Marcos Antônio.

Later, at Arena Fonte Nova, Flamengo lost to Bahia 1-0 and saw Palmeiras take the lead in the Brazilian Championship. Both teams have 55 points, but coach Abel Ferreira’s team has the advantage in number of wins (17 to 16) and still has a game in hand compared to the team from Rio.

John Textor’s Accusations in 2023

On November 1, 2023, the leaders Botafogo hosted Palmeiras at Nilton Santos for the 31st round of the Brazilian Championship. After going into halftime losing 3-0, Verdão managed an unlikely comeback and won 4-3 with a goal in the last play of stoppage time.

After the game, John Textor criticized the refereeing and mentioned corruption in the Brazilian Championship. Following that edition of the Brasileirão, Botafogo never won again and Palmeiras went on to win the title.

In 2024, the American continued making accusations against Palmeiras and mentioned an alleged favoritism so that the São Paulo club would be Brazilian champions in 2022 and 2023. However, Textor never presented concrete evidence to support his claims.

In March of last year, Palmeiras took legal action against the owner of Botafogo’s SAF. During this period, Textor and Leila Pereira, president of Verdão, exchanged public barbs. The president of the São Paulo club even said that the American is “the shame of Brazilian football.”

In February 2025, John Textor and the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD) reached an agreement to end the case regarding the accusations made by the executive. The American was ordered to pay R$ 1 million to the STJD.

Palmeiras responds in a statement

On Wednesday night, in an official statement, Palmeiras criticized the “unprecedented pressure” exerted by São Paulo and other clubs after the victory in the Choque-Rei, and pointed out moments in which Verdão was also harmed in the derby.

“Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras views with concern the unprecedented pressure that some clubs have been exerting publicly, and also behind the scenes of Brazilian football, with the aim of instilling chaos, benefiting from it to coerce entities and individuals in search of future advantages and creating narratives that attempt to tarnish the competent work carried out by our institution,” wrote Palmeiras.

The club also considered it “far too convenient” to credit the victory in the derby solely to the refereeing and highlighted the three goals scored in a 19-minute span in the second half to come from behind and win the match.

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