CBF releases VAR audio on São Paulo player's obscene gesture v Corinthians | OneFootball

On Sunday night, the CBF Refereeing Commission made public the audio from the VAR booth regarding the incident involving São Paulo’s Damián Bobadilla during Corinthians’ 3-2 victory. Timão players complained about an alleged obscene gesture made by the Paraguayan while celebrating São Paulo’s first goal.

In the footage reviewed, Bobadilla is seen facing the São Paulo bench with his hands close to his genital area, but without touching it. That lack of contact was precisely what led referee Anderson Daronco and the VAR team, led by Rodolpho Toski Marques, to decide not to send the player off.

Photo: Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images

The material released by the CBF shows about two minutes of review before the refereeing team reached its conclusion. During the conversation, Toski calls the incident “subjective,” emphasizing that the player does not actually touch his private parts. Even so, he recommends that Daronco review it on the monitor.

“It’s not clear enough for a red card. He does it with both hands, but he doesn’t actually touch his genital area. He does it like ‘fight, come on,’ it can be interpreted that way. There is no contact with the genitals. He makes an interpretive movement, as if grabbing, but he doesn’t touch. There is an up-and-down shaking motion, but without touching. We have a situation not seen on the field, and the player makes the movement. I need you to analyze the situation as the head referee,” said Rodolpho Toski during the dialogue.

After reviewing the incident, Anderson Daronco agreed with the VAR’s assessment. The referee argued that celebrations of this kind may be related to cultural aspects, especially among foreign players, and concluded that there was no provocation directed at the opponents.

“My interpretation is that he does not touch his genitals. It’s a goal celebration, players have this characteristic, especially foreigners, a fighting spirit situation, ‘come on.’ He’s not doing anything toward anyone, it’s a team situation of ‘show some fight,’ put in some fight. We’ll restart play and we’re not giving a card,” Daronco explained.

The decision sparked outrage at Corinthians. Marcelo Paz, the club’s football executive, criticized the refereeing and pointed to a difference in criteria when comparing the case to the dismissals of midfielders Allan and André, who had previously been punished for similar gestures.

The debate over obscene gestures has recently gained traction in incidents involving Corinthians itself. In the match against Fluminense, valid for the ninth round of the Brazilian Championship, Allan was sent off after placing his hand on his genital area while looking toward the opposing players. He later received the minimum punishment from the Superior Sports Court of Justice (STJD) and was also fined by the club.

Shortly afterward, André Luiz went through a similar situation. The youngster was shown a red card after referee Flávio Rodrigues de Souza understood that he had made an obscene gesture toward Andreas Pereira. Like Allan, André ultimately received the minimum punishment from the STJD and a fine imposed by Corinthians.

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