Palmeiras dispute ref’s version of Abel’s red card: “Not reality” | OneFootball

The expulsion of Abel Ferreira after the final whistle in Palmeiras' victory over Fluminense continues to cause controversy. On Thursday night, the Verdão defended the coach and countered the report made by referee Felipe Fernandes de Lima through an official statement.

In the report, the referee wrote that Abel allegedly addressed assistant number 1, Fernanda Gomes Antunes, and the fourth official, Luiz Tisne, “in a harsh, rude manner, gesturing with his arms and clapping in an ironic and mocking way.” The referee also claimed that Abel insulted the officials and made statements in a “defiant” manner.

Palmeiras, however, countered the version presented by Felipe Fernandes de Lima based on images from the club's performance analysis department. The club acknowledged that the coach argued with the fourth official but indicated that Abel did not address the assistant.

In the interpretation presented by Palmeiras, Abel also did not clap “in an ironic and mocking way” towards the members of the refereeing team. In the Alviverde's version, the coach was applauding defender Murilo before congratulating him on the victory.

Palmeiras also refutes the version that the coach needed to be “restrained by team members to leave the field.” The Verdão further accused the match referee of not even having seen the argument that led to Abel's expulsion.

“The decision to punish the coach was made based solely on the report made by Luiz Tisne through the electronic communication system,” said the club in a statement.

Abel received a direct red card and complained about the expulsion in a press conference. The Portuguese coach will not lead Palmeiras in the match against Vasco, scheduled for March 12 at 7:30 PM (Brasília time), at São Januário, valid for the fifth round of the Brazilian Championship.

See the full statement released by Palmeiras:

“The account of the reasons for coach Abel Ferreira's expulsion contained in the match report between Palmeiras and Fluminense, for the Brasileirão, does not correspond to the reality of the facts.

Images from the club's Performance Analysis show that, after the match, the coach did indeed argue with the fourth official Luiz Tisne, but did not address assistant Fernanda Gomes Antunes. Nor did the Alviverde coach clap “in an ironic and mocking way” towards the members of the refereeing team – in fact, he applauded defender Murilo before congratulating him on the victory.

Moreover, the images clearly show that Abel, at no point, “had to be restrained by team members to leave the field,” as the report describes. They also demonstrate that the main referee of the match, Felipe Fernandes de Lima, did not see the argument between the coach and the fourth official – the decision to punish the coach was made based solely on the report made by Luiz Tisne through the electronic communication system.

The match report is an important document and must be guided solely by the facts that occurred, without inaccuracies or exaggerations that could obscure the truth“.

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