Bracks slams refereeing, wants answers after Atlético draw in Mineiro

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·8 February 2026

Bracks slams refereeing, wants answers after Atlético draw in Mineiro

After the 1-1 draw between Atlético and Athletic this Saturday (07), at Arena MRV, for the 7th round of the first phase of the Campeonato Mineiro, Galo’s CSO, Paulo Bracks, made a harsh statement demanding explanations from the refereeing team and VAR. The alvinegro executive mainly complained about a penalty not awarded to Atlético in the first half, when the team was leading the match 1-0.

Galo took the lead with a goal from Renan Lodi, still in the first half. However, Athletic equalized in the second half, with Ronaldo Tavares, from the penalty spot.

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The incident that caused the most outrage from Atlético happened at the end of the first half, when Douglas Pelé grabbed Cuello inside the box. Referee Antônio Márcio Teixeira da Silva let play continue, and VAR, led by Leonardo Rotondo Pinto, did not recommend a review of the play.

In an interview after the final whistle, Paulo Bracks made it clear that the club is not trying to shift responsibility for the result, but highlighted a series of mistakes that, according to him, have been harming Atlético in the state championship: “We are not shifting any responsibility for the bad result, yet another bad result at home in this Campeonato Mineiro. But the sequence of mistakes is hurting us and I want to understand what is happening”, he stated.

The alvinegro CSO also mentioned other controversial incidents throughout the competition.

The penalty on Bernard, in a game we won, the wrongly disallowed goal by Cuello against América, in a match we drew, and today’s penalty, on Cuello, in the first half, which, if it wasn’t clear, at least there was some doubt and VAR should have called the referee to check, just as he checked Vitor Hugo’s penalty (for Athletic), which was a penalty.

Bracks concluded by reinforcing the club’s position regarding these episodes. “So this statement is to make it clear that we are not shifting (responsibility), but these are mistakes that are hurting us. There have been three serious mistakes in this first phase of the Campeonato Mineiro. I can’t let this go. We are alert, concerned, and we won’t let this go unnoticed”, he finished.

Atlético returns to the field next Wednesday (11), when they host Remo at Arena MRV, for the third round of the Campeonato Brasileiro. Kick-off is at 8 p.m. As for the Campeonato Mineiro, Galo ends their participation in the first phase on Saturday (14), against Itabirito, at 7 p.m., at Alçapão do Bonfim, in Nova Lima.

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