Referee and VAR controversies for Corinthians v Cruzeiro semi-final

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Central do Timão

·14. Dezember 2025

Referee and VAR controversies for Corinthians v Cruzeiro semi-final

By Henrique Pereira / Central do Timão Editorial Team

This Sunday, at 6 p.m., Corinthians will host Cruzeiro for the second leg of the Copa do Brasil semifinals. After building an advantage in the first leg, Timão only needs a draw at Neo Química Arena to secure a spot in the competition’s final. Amidst the decisive nature of the match and the controversies that marked the first encounter, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has appointed the refereeing team for the clash.

The entity has assigned Rodrigo José Pereira de Lima as the main referee for the match between Corinthians and Cruzeiro. He will be assisted by Nailton Junior de Sousa Oliveira and Victor Hugo Imazu dos Santos. The video referee (VAR) will be under the responsibility of Rafael Traci.

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Photo: Ruano Carneiro/GettyImages

Throughout his career, the Pernambuco-born referee has officiated seven matches involving Corinthians. In this period, the Parque São Jorge club has recorded two wins, two draws, and two losses. During these games, Rodrigo handed out 21 yellow cards to Corinthians players, issued one red card, and awarded two penalties against the alvinegra team.

Most recently, in the Brazilian Championship, Rodrigo José Pereira de Lima was in charge of the 1-1 draw between Corinthians and Internacional at Beira-Rio. The match was marked by four incidents reviewed by VAR and further on-field evaluations by the referee. After the game, the CBF released a report acknowledging at least one refereeing error that had a direct impact on the match result.

After that match, Corinthians’ football executive, Fabinho Soldado, commented on the refereeing mistakes and stated that the club has been repeatedly harmed throughout the competition. President Osmar Stabile also spoke out strongly about the incidents.

“Almost every game there’s a mistake against Corinthians; all the work that’s done ends up going down the drain. In my opinion, the second goal was on the same line, and it was yet another mistake against us. Now, there was that last-minute penalty: nobody pushed, you can’t see anything, only what the press showed. Everyone can see that nothing happened,” said the president.

“So, there’s no point in blaming the coach, because when it comes down to it, things change. That last-minute penalty didn’t exist, and I also want to note that the referee was pressured at halftime. I want to see if that will be included in the match report,” he added.

Corinthians’ complaints, however, were not limited to after the match. During the game, coach Dorival Júnior was sent off after protesting against refereeing decisions. In a press conference, the coach ironically commented on the referee’s performance.

“The game went on normally. A simple game, easy to referee, and unfortunately, there was direct interference from Mr. Gilberto Rodrigues, the VAR, and Mr. Rodrigo Pereira for the second time against Corinthians. An absurd, regrettable situation, and we leave here, unfortunately, without important points that would have put us in a much better position,” Dorival vented.

Besides the main referee, the VAR official, Rafael Traci, was also involved in another controversy related to Corinthians this season. In the 2-1 defeat to Red Bull Bragantino, Traci recommended a review of a possible penalty against Timão, which was awarded after analysis. On that occasion, the Corinthians coaching staff sent a letter to the CBF contesting the decision, but the entity considered the penalty call correct.

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