Zubeldía rues no penalty after Fluminense loss: “Ref got it wrong”

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·24. Mai 2026

Zubeldía rues no penalty after Fluminense loss: “Ref got it wrong”

Coach Luis Zubeldía analyzed Fluminense's 1-0 defeat to Mirassol this Saturday at Maião stadium, in the 17th round of the Brazilian Championship. After the match, the coach acknowledged the team's subpar performance, but also criticized the refereeing for not awarding a penalty to Tricolor.

— Besides recognizing that we didn’t play a good match, it’s important to mention that the referee made a serious mistake by not giving the penalty, which would have been important for our morale. These are difficult matches here. It was a game in which we lacked depth and creativity. But that penalty situation is crystal clear, I don’t understand why he changed the decision. I asked for an explanation — he said.

The Argentine also commented on the problems the team showed throughout the match, especially in attacking buildup and the difficulty in turning possession into clear chances.

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— I put in the solutions I thought were best. It was very difficult to complete passes between the lines. It seems to me that we lacked depth. We had a lot of the ball, but without the depth and creativity we need to make that possession count — he analyzed.

Asked about his lineup choices and the players used during the match, Zubeldía avoided singling anyone out and preferred to focus on the team’s overall performance.

— As for the players who didn’t play and who can play, that’s something I’d have to explain one by one. I prefer to analyze the game rather than why I used one player or another. Even though we had a lot of the ball, we didn’t play a good game — he concluded.

With the result, Fluminense remains in third place in the Brasileirão with 30 points, but sees its run of five matches without defeat come to an end.

Now, the club’s focus shifts to the decisive match against Deportivo La Guaira next Wednesday in the Copa Libertadores. To advance to the round of 16, Tricolor needs to win and hope for a slip-up by Bolívar in the other Group C match.

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