Awful memories: controversial ref for São Paulo v Bahia in Brasileirão | OneFootball

The referee who will officiate the clash between São Paulo and Bahia in the Brasileirão on Sunday afternoon (5/3) was appointed by the CBF this Thursday (30), and his name is yet another one recently involved in several controversies in Brazilian football.

At a public hearing held at CBF headquarters in Rio de Janeiro (RJ) this afternoon, Davi de Oliveira Lacerda, 30, from Espírito Santo, was selected to referee the match between the two tricolor sides, which will take place in Bragança Paulista.

As the national body usually states, the selection of referees is defined by taking into account the stages of the competition, the importance and degree of complexity of each match, and the referees’ qualifications, physical condition, and technical performance.

In the 2026 Brasileirão, Davi Lacerda has already officiated ten matches, none of them involving Tricolor.

However, in 2025, Lacerda’s name was involved in several controversies. In a Brasileirão match, he awarded an unbelievable penalty to Palmeiras in a game against Juventude. The play was reviewed by the VAR booth and correctly overturned. Watch it again below:

MORE CONTROVERSIES

Earlier, in the Campeonato Capixaba semifinal between Desportiva Ferroviária and Rio Branco, the officiating crew ignored two questionable penalty incidents, even after VAR review.

Feeling harmed, Desportiva protested and issued a statement of repudiation against the Football Federation (FES), accusing referee Davi Lacerda of having an emotional tie to Rio Branco, since he had been a player for the opposing team in the youth ranks.

“The referee’s conduct in the face of the wrong decisions and the non-use of VAR caused us immense astonishment, since proof and evidence were presented of professional and emotional ties between him and the rival team, which was favored in the incidents mentioned,” the statement said.

Later, in a match from the 6th round of the 2025 Brasileirão, the referee from Espírito Santo also sparked outrage by failing to award a penalty in the game between Atlético-MG and Mirassol.

Midfielder Gustavo Scarpa was brought down inside the opposing penalty area, but the referee did not call a foul. Called by VAR to review the play, Lacerda pointed to a foul by the Atlético player at the start of the move, thus ruling out a possible penalty for the Minas Gerais side. The referee’s decision caused great outrage among Atlético fans, along with many protests from the supporters.

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