Benfica-Santa Clara scandal: Experts say Eagles got help (video) | OneFootball

Benfica drew 1-1 with Santa Clara in a match valid for the fifth round of the Liga Portugal Betclic. The match was marked by a blatant error from João Pinheiro, who, in the 34th minute, inadvertently showed a red card to a player from the Azores side. Experts condemned the referee's action.

"The referee gained confidence and calmed his 'anxiety' with undue assistance from VAR. There was no 'reckless attitude', but rather negligent conduct. A yellow card was the correct decision", said Jorge Coroado, former referee, in statements to the newspaper O Jogo.

José Leirós shares the same opinion, pointing out the referee's mistake: "I admit it was a negligent play. João Pinheiro made the right decision by showing the yellow card. After seeing it on VAR, he decided differently, but there was no reason for a sending off. There was no reckless challenge or excessive force, nor was the opponent's physical integrity put at risk."

Fortunato Azevedo joins the critics of the decision, which ended up leaving Santa Clara down to 10 men for 56 minutes: "Paulo Victor committed active dangerous play against Tomás Araújo, who, however, lowered his head towards the ball. Negligent foul, deserving of a yellow card. There was nothing, after the VAR call, that justified João Pinheiro overturning the decision."

With the draw, Benfica now has 10 points in Liga Portugal Betclic. Sporting has nine and has yet to play this round. The Lions travel to Famalicão at 8:30 p.m. this Saturday, September 13 and Rui Borges has a key absence.

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