Iturralde González on Sporting v Nacional controversy: puts his arm... | OneFootball

Iturralde González, former Spanish international referee, analyzed the main controversial incidents of the 20th round of the Liga Portugal Betclic, starting with the match between Sporting and Nacional (2-1), which sparked discussion over an incident in the area involving Ousmane Diomande and defenders Léo Santos and Zé Vítor.

Regarding this situation, the former referee considered the decision of the refereeing team to be correct, explaining: “I don't see a clear foul by the Nacional defender. Léo Santos puts his arm around the Sporting player's body and, when he feels the contact and realizes he can't reach the ball, he falls. For me, it’s not a penalty. Football has a big problem with simulations.”

Iturralde González also commented on the incident between Hidemasa Morita and Matheus Dias in the Sporting area, dismissing the existence of an infraction for a penalty and emphasizing the interpretation of the rules regarding contact between players.

In his analysis to the newspaper Record, he stated: “I don't see the incident as sufficient to justify a penalty. The rules say to hold, not grab. You can hold a player while disputing the ball, but when that foul slows down the opponent or restricts their movements, then it’s a penalty. In this play, I see much more that it is the Nacional player falling rather than the Sporting player committing a foul, that is, preventing the opponent from advancing or disputing the ball.”

The green and white team will return to the field next Thursday, February 5th, against AVS SAD. The match, counting for the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup, against the team led by João Henriques, will be played at 8:45 PM, in Alvalade.

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