Otamendi sent off, misses derby, Mourinho slams referee | OneFootball

Nicolás Otamendi will be a major absence in Benfica’s defense for the trip to FC Porto at Estádio do Dragão, in the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup. The Eagles’ captain was sent off in the final minutes of the match against Sp. Braga, in the semi-final of the Allianz Cup, after receiving two yellow cards, and will miss the match managed by José Mourinho, scheduled for the 14th.

According to the Disciplinary Regulations of the Competitions Organized by Liga Portugal, specifically in article 37, regarding the sanction of suspension of players, point 3, section ‘B’, the player receives a suspension of “one official match in the case of expulsion due to accumulation of yellow cards.”

Furthermore, article 38, regarding the serving of suspensions, states that “the suspension sanction applied for a period of time to players will be served uninterruptedly in all official matches, regardless of the organizing entity,” meaning that Nicolás Otamendi will not be eligible for the Eagles’ trip to Estádio do Dragão.

José Mourinho did not accept this and criticized João Pinheiro: “We are going to play against the strongest team in Portugal at the moment, the points show that. I’m not sure if João Pinheiro acts the same way with all the team captains he referees. I have serious doubts, it almost seemed like he wanted Otamendi to be sent off. Maybe it’s good for his résumé to send off a World Champion. One thing is an insult, another is a discussion. It seems completely absurd to me,” said the Benfica coach.

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