Ex-Benfica star elbowed in face, João Pinheiro blasted: should be jailed | OneFootball

João Pinheiro, the referee for next Sunday’s derby between Benfica and Sporting and the only representative of Portuguese refereeing at the World Cup, was heavily criticised during Strasbourg - Mainz (4-0), in the second leg of the Conference League quarter-finals. Gary O'Neil, coach of the French side, even said the Portuguese referee "should be jailed".

It all happened in the 19th minute, when Diego Moreira, formerly of Benfica, fell to the ground holding his face after being elbowed by Dominik Kohr. João Pinheiro awarded the foul and showed a yellow card to the defender of the German side, a decision that left the Strasbourg coach on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"This is madness! Madness! He should be jailed. He is bad!" he said towards the fourth official, also backed up by one of his assistants. "It was an elbow. He hit him with the elbow," was heard, according to footage captured by Canal+.

It should be remembered that, on derby day at Alvalade, João Pinheiro will be joined by assistants Bruno Jesus and Luciano Maia. The role of fourth official will be carried out by Miguel Fonseca. From the Cidade do Futebol, in Oeiras, the AF Braga referee will be assisted by Rui Costa, who will be the VAR for the match between the Lions and the Eagles. Alongside the experienced referee, José Bessa will serve as AVAR.

Benfica - who reacted to Óscar Cardozo’s farewell - and Sporting will headline matchday 30 of the Liga Portugal Betclic, scheduled for this Sunday, 19 April, at 6:00 pm, at the José Alvalade Stadium. At the moment, the Reds are fighting to reach second place, currently occupied by the Lions.

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