Iturralde backs Benfica on Lenglet red: “Doesn’t seem enough” | OneFootball

Iturralde González, former Spanish international referee, analyzed the main incidents of the Clássico between Porto and Benfica, played at the Estádio do Dragão, and gave a different opinion from the one taken by Miguel Nogueira in Clément Lenglet’s case.

For the Spanish expert, the Benfica center-back should not have been sent off for a second yellow after the contact with André Silva, still in the first half. Iturralde González believes there was a foul, but feels the action was not serious enough to justify a second booking.

“For a second yellow and a sending-off, it falls short for me, I don’t think it’s enough because there is no action-reaction. For me, if you look at the action-reaction, the player throws himself to the ground a bit after feeling the contact. In other words, it’s not action-reaction. For me, it’s not reckless,” he said.

Even so, the former Spanish international made one observation about Lenglet, arguing that the Benfica defender should not have given the referee the chance to interpret the incident as an act of aggression: “You can’t make a move that allows the referee to interpret it as something other than what it is. For me, if you look at the action-reaction, the player throws himself to the ground a bit after feeling the contact. In other words, it’s not action-reaction. For me, it’s not reckless,” he added.

Iturralde González stressed that he does not believe there was enough force to justify a second yellow: “For me, it’s not a reckless play where he strikes him hard or where he hits him with force on the neck from behind the head.” In his view, only a foul should have been given.

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