Corinthians U20 coach slams refereeing after derby, apologises to player | OneFootball

Coach William Batista expressed dissatisfaction with the refereeing after Corinthians’ 1-0 loss to Palmeiras on Tuesday night (19), in the 13th round of the Brazilian Under-20 Championship. The derby took place at Fazendinha and was marked by the sending-off of right-back Guilherme Pellegrin in the first half.

After the match, the Alvinegro manager criticized referee Gustavo Holanda’s performance and mentioned other recent episodes involving decisions against Corinthians in the national youth competition.

Photo: Rodrigo Gazzanel / Corinthians Agency

Pellegrin was sent off after receiving a second yellow card amid a scuffle during the Derby. William Batista questioned the referee’s handling of the incident. “In a situation with some confusion, on the first yellow card Pellegrin got, he chose one of the two teams to book. Then, in the next play, both players came in a little high with the elbow, but it didn’t hit the face and he sent him off,” William began in an interview with the Meu Timão portal.

The coach also recalled the sending-off of defensive midfielder Luiz Gustavo Bahia in the loss to Vasco last weekend. According to William, the referee from that match even got in touch with the Corinthians player to apologize for the decision made on the field.

“There was a play against Vasco in which the referee called Bahia to apologize, because he sent Bahia off. In other words, he apologized because he was wrong. So, honestly, it was even news to me that a referee would call to apologize,” he revealed.

Another case mentioned by the coach was Christian Oliveira’s sending-off in the match against Fluminense. On that occasion, the player had initially received a yellow card, but ended up being sent off after the referee reviewed the incident on the field.

“There was also a controversial play against Fluminense, where both players go for the ball the exact same way, exactly the same. And he gives a yellow. Then he looks at the Fluminense player’s leg and then gives a red card. I even asked if he was a doctor. Because if he looked at the leg and changed the decision, then he’s a doctor,” he vented.

William Batista also again mentioned the derby against São Paulo, when a legitimate goal scored by Vitinho Dourado was not awarded by the referee, even though the ball had completely crossed the line.

“We had a goal against São Paulo, by Vitinho Dourado, that wasn’t awarded. Then there was the sending-off against Bahia, which is very questionable, very questionable. There was the mistake by this same referee on Vitinho’s goal, when it was clear the ball went in. And he referees the derby again today — he was gifted the derby today,” he said.

Next, the coach reinforced his concern about the number of controversial incidents involving Corinthians in the competition.

“I think they need to be better prepared, they need to be better prepared. We had these sendings-off, but I think maybe, in the vast majority of them, it shouldn’t have happened the way it did. And it’s a warning sign, because it wasn’t only in the Under-20s. I think there was also a controversial incident in the first team, in the derby against São Paulo, on the goal play. And what was a sending-off against us, in the other game it wasn’t. So, it’s strange,” he concluded.

With the Derby defeat, Corinthians remained on 18 points and sit in 10th place in the Brazilian Under-20 Championship, outside the qualification zone for the knockout stage. Timãozinho’s next match will only be on May 28, at 3 p.m., against Red Bull Bragantino at CPD Atibaia, in the 14th round of the national competition.

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