Cláudio Pereira to referee Sporting v Porto, debut sparks controversy | OneFootball

The Refereeing Council of the Portuguese Football Federation has appointed Cláudio Pereira to officiate the match between Sporting and Porto, for the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-finals, scheduled for tonight at 8:45 pm at Estádio José Alvalade.

Jorge Coroado made it clear that he does not agree with this appointment, since, in his opinion, “Cláudio Pereira has never shown himself to be a top referee,” he said in a statement to the newspaper O Jogo. “He tends to let the game flow, but in reality, this ends up being excessive freedom, occasionally controlled. He lacks both technical and disciplinary rigor and, at times, manages to improvise to resolve situations. All we can do is hope that, this time, he manages again, although it is always risky to trust fully.”

José Leirós is also against the choice made by the FPF Refereeing Council, even stating that this is a “strange and even unpredictable appointment considering what Cláudio Pereira has done recently,” he stressed, continuing: “Although it pains me greatly to say it, I consider this a high-risk appointment, since it will be a very difficult match, with a referee who will certainly have trouble facing certain situations.”

On the other hand, Fortunato Azevedo does not oppose this choice: “By appointing Cláudio Pereira to referee his first classic, the Refereeing Council is, since the beginning of the season, following a policy of renewing the pool of referees for big matches, which so far has proven to be a successful strategy. Cláudio Pereira will have an excellent opportunity to showcase his best qualities and demonstrate that he is worthy to continue bearing the FIFA badge. Personally, I think that, once again, the refereeing team will contribute to a great football spectacle.”

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