Iturralde González: Sporting should've seen red, very dangerous | OneFootball

Iturralde González has no doubts: João Pinheiro was right to send off Paulo Vítor in the Benfica - Santa Clara match, but António Nobre failed to show a red card to Gonçalo Inácio in the Famalicão - Sporting game. The refereeing expert, a former international referee, used his column in the Record newspaper to analyze the most controversial incidents of the fifth round of the Liga Portugal Betclic. Remember that the referee for the match with Qarabag has also been announced.

About the incident in the Benfica game, he explained the following: ""The VAR did very well to warn the referee. It's a clear red card offense, for a serious foul. Most likely the player didn't mean to hit the opponent in the face, but when you challenge for the ball with your leg so high, you run the risk of, at the very least, being admonished".

"If you go in with your studs up and hit forcefully in the face, it's a sending off. In this type of action, intent has been removed from the rulebook. It's certain he didn't mean to hit him in the head, but, when challenging for the ball in this way, with the studs up, it's a red card", concluded Iturralde González.

On the other hand, the refereeing expert believes that the referee of the Famalicão - Sporting match failed to show a red card to Gonçalo Inácio: ""For me, it's a cautionable offense. It's not a VAR matter, as it can't intervene, only in situations of a straight red. It never gets involved in a second yellow. But let's observe how the player masks the movement when he hits the Famalicão player. Often, if there's an arm movement to the chest or throat, the action is very clear and there would be no doubt. Here he seeks contact with his whole body. What moves is not just the arm, but the whole body".

"It's a very dangerous, reckless play and for me deserving of a second yellow. Players train all week and mask: defenders their hands and hits, forwards the penalties or the plays where they pretend. Here the player raises his arm very high and with his body hits the opponent, putting himself in the position of the opposing player. He's not just protecting himself and ends up hitting him. Second yellow", concluded Iturralde González.

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