Iturralde González on Vitória SC v Sporting: That was a penalty | OneFootball

Iturralde González, former international referee, said that a penalty should have been awarded in favor of Sporting at the 30th minute, due to a foul by João Mendes on Fotis Ioannidis, at a time when the score was still tied at zero at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques.

"In my opinion, it was a penalty. Many times, referees don't call it because the ball is not going towards the player being held. But the rules do not state anywhere that the ball needs to go in that direction", he mentioned to the newspaper 'Record'.

The 58-year-old former referee also explained that a card was missing: "I understand that a dispute between two players or a non-persistent hold may not be a penalty. But that hold was persistent, it brought down the attacker and still warranted a yellow card for the defender".

What is certain is that the lions did indeed manage to secure the three points (4-1). Francisco Trincão opened the scoring at the 32nd minute, and Fotis Ioannidis increased the lead at the 42nd. In the second half, Telmo Arcanjo reduced the disadvantage for the Guimarães team at the 50th minute, but Juan Castillo, with an own goal at the 63rd, and Maxi Araújo, at the 79th, sealed the victory for the Alvalade club.

This season, wearing the Sporting jersey, Fotis Ioannidis – valued at 20 million euros – has played 18 matches. The 25-year-old Greek international forward has played 746 minutes, in which he has already scored six goals and provided three assists with the green and white stripes.

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