Leonardo Jardim mocks referee in derby draw: "Never seen this" | OneFootball

Cruzeiro’s coach, Leonardo Jardim, made ironically-tinged criticisms of referee Paulo Cesar Zanovelli, who officiated the derby against Atlético-MG last Wednesday night (15th), during the 28th round of the Brasileirão at Arena MRV. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.

“A ball went out, a corner was given, I think if there were 40,000 people there, everyone saw it. It wasn’t a doubtful play. I’ve been in this career for a few years and I’ve never seen a referee pull out four red cards and only get one right. I’ve never seen that in football. I think people need to be more careful. This is a Minas derby, which excites a lot of people. I don’t think this referee was prepared for this (the game).”

After the match, during the press conference, the coach commented on the play that led to the rival’s equalizing goal, which resulted from a corner that, according to him, was wrongly awarded by Zanovelli — a referee affiliated with the Minas Gerais Football Federation (FMF).

Furthermore, Jardim also highlighted the lack of consistency in the issuing of cards throughout the match, describing the referee’s conduct as confusing and inconsistent.

“If you’ve ever seen a referee pull out the red card four times and then it’s not red, it’s yellow… he wasn’t prepared for this. Poor guy, but I think he’s the least to blame for all of this.”

THE INCIDENT

Just three minutes into the game, referee Paulo Cesar Zanovelli awarded a corner to Atlético-MG in a play where Dudu, from the rival team, had been the last to touch the ball. The referee saw a nonexistent deflection off defender Jonathan Jesus. Following the corner, Gustavo Scarpa crossed to Ruan, who scored the equalizer.

Outraged by the decision, striker Kaio Jorge made a theft gesture towards the referee and ended up being sent off. Before definitively showing the red card, Zanovelli initially raised the red for Kaiki, Lucas Romero, and Kaio Jorge himself, reversing all decisions until confirming the expulsion of the number 9. Throughout the match, the referee continued to show insecurity and lack of consistency in other calls, irritating Cruzeiro’s players and coaching staff.

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