“Iturralde González: harsh to give penalty for FC Porto” | OneFootball

Iturralde González considered the penalty awarded against FC Porto in the match against Sp. Braga, in the 27th round of the Liga Betclic, to be wrongly given, in his analysis of the main controversial incidents of the round.

The former Spanish international referee believes that the incident between Gabri Veiga and Niakaté did not justify the awarding of a penalty. In his view, the referee saw contact on the shirt of the Braga player but exaggerated in his assessment of the play.

“For me, it’s not enough for the referee to call a penalty. Gabri Veiga grabs Niakaté’s shirt with his right hand, and that’s what the referee sees, but he makes a mistake, because the rules talk about holding, not just grabbing,” he explained.

Iturralde González also distinguished between the two concepts, arguing that a penalty should only be given when the defender clearly prevents the opponent from moving or contesting the ball. “You have to hold the opponent firmly for it to be a penalty, in other words, prevent him from moving, prevent him from contesting the ball. That is a penalty,” he stated.

In the former referee’s opinion, Niakaté ended up exaggerating the fall when he realized he would not reach the ball. “Here, the Sp. Braga player is grabbed, but when he sees he can no longer reach the ball, he lets himself fall,” he emphasized.

Iturralde González admitted, nevertheless, that the referee’s decision can be understood given the context of the incident, although he maintains his disagreement. “I can even understand the referee’s decision, because he takes a while to blow for the penalty, he doesn’t whistle immediately when the player falls. He did have some doubt, but for me it’s exaggerated to award a penalty,” he concluded.

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