Gabi Zanotti hits out at VAR after Corinthians draw: "Lack of respect" | OneFootball

This Sunday, Cruzeiro and Corinthians drew 2 to 2 at Arena Independência, in the first leg of the Brazilian Women's Championship final. After the match, Gabi Zanotti analyzed the game and criticized the VAR. The video refereeing equipment stopped working for five minutes towards the end of the match.

"Honestly, I think it was disrespectful to both teams. Both we and they could have been harmed, like in my goal, which was offside. If it weren't for the VAR, it wouldn't have been validated," said Zanotti, in an interview with SporTV.

The goal scored by Gabi Zanotti came at 28 minutes into the second half but was disallowed on the field. Only after VAR analysis was the goal validated. The midfielder spoke about the period when the video referee was not functioning and pointed out that both teams agreed to pause the game.

"My idea was that there should be no game. From the moment there is no communication with the VAR, the match should be stopped. And we talked about it on the field, I think both teams agreed, and that should have been the decision made. But the fourth referee told me it was a protocol and the match should continue. I honestly disagree. I think we need to analyze this and be more respected," she concluded.

Despite being ahead on the scoreboard twice, the Brabas saw Cruzeiro equalize twice. Now, both teams continue their preparation for the return match. The decisive clash will be next Sunday at 10:30 AM (Brasília time) at Neo Química Arena.

Zanotti evaluates the first leg

A multi-champion with Corinthians, Gabi Zanotti also assessed the outlook of the confrontation. In pursuit of her seventh Brasileirão title, which could be the sixth consecutive championship, the 40-year-old midfielder emphasized that "efficiency" will be crucial for the decisive match.

"We don't have to rely on numbers, on everything that happened throughout the season. We are very united and aware of everything that went wrong in the phases of the game (first leg). We always push ourselves to be efficient. And in a final, that makes a big difference. But I think we played a great match, there is a lot of quality on the other side. It's a match defined by details, millimetric ones. So, we need to stay focused during the 90 minutes of the return leg," she concluded.

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