Iturralde González: Porto got lucky against Santa Clara | OneFootball

Iturralde González was adamant: Porto was favored by the refereeing against Santa Clara. In the analysis of the key moments of the Liga Portugal Betclic match, the former Spanish international referee believes that Bednarek should have been sent off early in the game.

"Two things need to be considered in the play: first, whether there was a foul or not, and if simply placing a hand above the shoulder is sufficient. Second, if the foul is called, what is the appropriate disciplinary action?” begins the former referee, speaking to the newspaper Record.

“In this case, the referee decides to call a foul and show a yellow card. Here, in my opinion, the referee makes a mistake. If the foul is called, Bednarek needs to be sent off for a clear goal-scoring opportunity,” adds Iturralde González, believing that the Porto defender should have seen the red card.

“I will repeat what I have said: in clear goal-scoring opportunities, the referee's perspective is always much worse than that of an aerial camera, which allows for a better view of the distance between the defenders. For me, if the foul is called, there is no other option but to send off Bednarek. In my opinion, this is a play where VAR could have helped", concludes the former referee.

With this victory, Porto now has 49 points in 17 matches (16 wins and one draw) and remains at the top of the Liga Portugal Betclic. Sporting is second (42 points in 17 matches) and Benfica third (39 points in 17 games). In the next round, the Eagles visit Rio Ave (January 17, at 8:30 PM).

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