Abel on Palmeiras-Chapecoense officiating: 'Some right, some wrong'

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Nosso Palestra

·31 May 2026

Abel on Palmeiras-Chapecoense officiating: 'Some right, some wrong'

With some difficulty, Palmeiras beat bottom-placed Chapecoense 1-0 this Sunday (31) at Allianz Parque, in the 18th round of the Brazilian Championship, in a match full of refereeing controversy. At the press conference, Abel Ferreira spoke about the performance of the referee and his assistants after the key incidents.

Match marked by controversy

Palmeiras’ situation became more complicated in the first half, when Allan was shown a straight red card after stamping hard on Giovanni Augusto.

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Deep into stoppage time in the second half, Chapecoense found the net through Ítalo and celebrated the equalizer, but VAR identified a foul by Neto Pessôa on Murilo in the build-up. After reviewing the play on the monitor, referee Felipe Fernandes de Lima disallowed the goal.

Shortly afterward, video review intervened again. This time, VAR called the referee to check a possible penalty for the team from Santa Catarina. After the review, Felipe Fernandes de Lima awarded the penalty for a foul touch by Khellven in a play that happened on the edge of the box – Bolasie blasted it over. Abel explained his view on each incident.

– On Allan’s red card, did you see Pedro Rocha’s red card on Vitão? It was on the shin and it was correct. Today, whether it was yellow or even red, I would have accepted it. The referee was going to give a yellow. And I’m sure someone told him in his ear that it was red, and then he gave it. He had no doubt at all when applying it. – Six minutes of first-half stoppage time? Do you remember the match against Boca Juniors in 2023? Do you know how much time they gave after that disgrace? They gave five. Why six? – About the foul on Murilo in Chapecoense’s disallowed goal: there was a push. VAR should not have intervened if the referee had called it on the field. – The penalty was clear. The referee got some right and got others wrong. – Allan was punished too harshly, I didn’t understand the six minutes, and the third one, the foul on Murilo, was a push. He had some good decisions and others that were not so good.

Abel also spoke about the conditions surrounding the match. Verdão took the field with 11 absences, due to World Cup call-ups and suspensions. The coach did not hold back in criticizing the schedule for allowing matches to be played while teams are missing players called up by their national teams.

– What would this game be like if the clubs and the CBF wanted to take care of what Brazilian football is? This match would not have happened. – This is the only country in the world where they allow games to be played without the called-up players. Under normal conditions, it would never have happened. I’m sure the clubs want to do what’s best, but I can’t find a reason for this to happen.

Among the starters in this mixed lineup was forward Luighi, who was booed by the fans as he left the field in the second half to make way for Paulinho.

– You knew Palmeiras was going to play without 11 players, with a competitive team but with many young players who are still not used to the weight of the Palmeiras shirt. We have to be patient. If he plays, if he (Luighi) plays, it’s because he has value, and sometimes we have very little patience.

Paulinho

Forward Paulinho has been recovering after a second surgery due to an injury to the tibia in his right leg. The player, who scored the third goal against Flamengo, has been under a workload management program and gradually increasing his minutes since returning.

NOSSO PALESTRA has learned that Verdão’s Health and Performance Department is preparing a special fitness plan for the No. 10 during the break for the World Cup.

At the press conference, Abel Ferreira spoke about the player’s progress, after scoring the goal this Sunday.