Iturralde González on Porto’s shocking penalty vs Sporting | OneFootball

Iturralde González, former international referee, considered there was no infraction in the penalty awarded to Porto against Arouca, at a time when the score was tied (1-1). The expert believes there is no reason to call a foul.

"In my opinion, there is no penalty. It is not enough for a penalty. But I believe what the referee sees, and what he whistles on the field, is that the Porto player is about to shoot at the goal and the Arouca player puts his leg out to prevent the shot and hits him. That's what the referee sees on the field and that's why he calls a penalty, and the VAR accepts the decision. It's very much a matter of interpretation," he began by saying to the newspaper 'Record'.

The former referee explained the decision: "For me, it's a play where one player is going to shoot and the other is trying to clear the ball. It's a ball dispute and, for me, it's a football contact. The Arouca player does nothing to bring down the Porto player. But, as I usually say, these are the kinds of plays where there are no absolute truths. I understand what the referee interprets: that the Porto player is going to shoot and the other puts his leg out not to contest the ball but just to prevent the shot and trips him. But I don't see it that way. I see both going for the ball and it's just a football contact. I wouldn't call a penalty," he said.

In the match between Sporting and Estoril (3-0), in an incident between Luis Suárez and Felix Bacher in the lions' area, Iturralde González says there was no infraction by the Sporting forward: "There is a slight step, a slight step, but it's in the pursuit of the ball and he has no more space to step elsewhere. He can't step anywhere else. The one in front doesn't see who's behind, or anything."

The former referee speaks of the Colombian's "bad luck": "It's an action I would say is bad luck in the game. But it's in search of space. It's not that he steps on him in a ball dispute, arrives late or anything. In other words, he's behind, doesn't see who's there and the defender in front can't step elsewhere. It's not a step to call a penalty or foul. Another thing would be if I were going to contest the ball, arrive late and step on you. Then yes, I'm taking a risk. But here he couldn't step elsewhere, without even knowing who was behind."

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