Palmeiras back at Morumbis, Abel still irked by past controversy | OneFootball

Five months after the controversial match, Palmeiras returns to Morumbi to face São Paulo in the eighth round of the Brazilian Championship. The reunion rekindles discussions about the October 2025 match, which was marked by controversial refereeing decisions.

On that occasion, Verdão won the match 3-2, coming from behind. Abel Ferreira, Palmeiras' coach, has mentioned more than once that his team suffered the consequences of that game in terms of refereeing and, last Wednesday, even said he would have preferred to lose that game.

“If I had known that the consequence of that game would be what it was, where two or three teams united against Palmeiras, I would have preferred to lose that game,” said Abel after the 2-1 victory over Botafogo in the Brasileirão.

However, this was not the first time the coach recalled this controversial match. On Sunday, after defeating Mirassol, for example, while talking about the team's evolution from one season to another, he recalled the situation and mentioned the conditions for the club to finish the year as it did.

“We all know the conditions we had. I know you don't talk about it and only look at the results. And that's fine, it's an opinion. But I remember very well what happened last year regarding the championship, the punishment given to the referee who officiated our game at Morumbi. Everyone was afraid of it happening again,” declared the coach.

At the end of last year, Abel also spoke about the classic and questioned whether the referees were “afraid” to award a penalty to Palmeiras since the episode. In February, after the victory over Internacional, the coach questioned a new uncalled infraction and once again recalled the episode.

Gazeta Esportiva learned at the time that the club saw the referees as insecure about awarding penalties in favor of Palmeiras. After Abel's statement at Beira-Rio, two penalties were awarded in favor of Verdão: one against Capivariano and another against Fluminense.

Remember the penalty controversy

In the classic between Palmeiras and São Paulo, which took place in October 2025, referee Ramon Abatti Abel did not award a penalty to the Tricolor while the home team was leading 2-0. Subsequently, Verdão turned the game around and won 3-2.

The referee was suspended by the CBF and, last week, received a 40-day suspension after a judgment by the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD).

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