Iturralde: Card missed for dangerous play in Benfica v Famalicão | OneFootball

Iturralde González, former international referee, analyzed the key moments of Benfica's victory over Famalicão (1-0), in the 15th round clash. The expert stated that there is no doubt about the foul by Justin de Haas on Nicolás Otamendi and that Gustavo Sá should have been shown a card.

"It's a clear penalty. De Haas jumps using his arm, there is a movement by the defender with his arm and a penalty must be awarded and a yellow card shown. It's very clear, because there is an arm movement that goes straight to Otamendi's face," he wrote in the newspaper 'Record'.

Next, he spoke about the incident between Gianluca Prestianni and the Famalicão midfielder: "It's a textbook refereeing play. I would like to know what the players say in these kinds of situations. Gustavo Sá touches the ball first, but often that does not prevent it from being a foul. Here, he can no longer stop and knows he is going to bring down Prestianni with a dangerous tackle from behind, even though he pulls his leg back. For me, it's a foul and a booking. It's a very dangerous play, because he could have injured his opponent."

The only goal of the match came in the 34th minute, after a penalty was awarded for a foul on Nicolás Otamendi. Vangelis Pavlidis converted from the penalty spot, reaching 14 goals in the league, leading the top scorer list on his own.

Benfica ends the year 2025 with a final victory at Estádio da Luz, against an opponent that put up a strong fight against José Mourinho's men. With this result, Benfica continues their good run of form and secures three more points. After 15 rounds, the Eagles have 35 points, but remain eight points behind Porto.

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