Palmeiras chief dodges ref row, pokes fun at São Paulo complaints | OneFootball

By Rodrigo Matuck

The arbitration of the classic match between Palmeiras and São Paulo that took place last Sunday remains a topic of discussion this Monday, the day after Palmeiras' qualification following a 2-1 victory at Arena Crefisa Barueri. Leila Pereira, president of Verdão, avoided stirring controversy against the arbitration decisions and took a jab at Tricolor for their complaints after the match.

“I don't comment on arbitration decisions. When there is a clear mistake, we talk to the people who are here to resolve and listen. I don't argue. I don't like to outsource responsibilities. There are mistakes, but not against Palmeiras. There are mistakes for and against... There are mistakes, but I don't like to outsource. In the Libertadores, for example, there was a problem in the final and you didn't see the president complaining,” she declared.

The director of football at São Paulo, Rui Costa, spoke before the press conference of coach Hernán Crespo and criticized the arbitration, especially the VAR, for a possible penalty not awarded in favor of the Morumbi team when Palmeiras was leading 1-0.

The incident in question happened five minutes into the second half. Lucas Moura crossed, and the ball hit Gustavo Gómez's arm inside the area. São Paulo players asked for a penalty, but referee Daiane Muniz was not even called to the VAR booth to review the possible penalty.

The official made it clear that the complaint was not directed at referee Daiane Muniz, but rather at the arbitration team as a whole, which did not recommend reviewing the play. Thiago Duarte Peixoto was in charge of the VAR.

Later, when Verdão had already made it 2-0 with Flaco López, she awarded a penalty for Marlon Freitas on Bobadilla. Calleri reduced the deficit for Tricolor with the penalty kick, but it wasn't enough to avoid elimination.

“It's dangerous to outsource. You only improve when you recognize your mistakes. It's not by throwing a tantrum and making a scandal that you solve things. If it were me, a woman complaining about arbitration, they would say I'm hysterical. But there are so many male directors and professionals hysterically talking about arbitration and outsourcing responsibilities... You saw this recently, yesterday. You will never see the president of Palmeiras doing that,” continued Leila.

Finals Details

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