Palmeiras question referees' penalty calls, raise concerns

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Gazeta Esportiva.com

·14 February 2026

Palmeiras question referees' penalty calls, raise concerns

By Lucas Passoli

Abel Ferreira expressed Palmeiras' dissatisfaction with the refereeing regarding the penalties that have not been awarded in their favor last Thursday after the 3-1 victory over Internacional in the Brasileirão. The coach mentioned an incident that occurred in the game, but it is not the only one that the club has "kept in mind."

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Internally, Palmeiras is concerned about the refereeing regarding penalties, which, according to the club, have not been awarded since the 3-2 comeback against São Paulo, where a decision was not made in favor of the Tricolor. The coach's statement was even made with the approval of the Palmeiras board.

The club maintains constant contact with the entities responsible for the competitions to express their dissatisfaction.

In Palmeiras' assessment, after that classic match, a narrative was created that the club was favored by refereeing, according to rivals, influencers, and part of the press. After that, Palmeiras sees the refereeing as insecure in awarding penalties in favor of Verdão and claims that at least six such infractions were not called.

The penalties questioned by Verdão are against Flamengo (Jorginho's push on Gómez) and Santos (on Mauricio), in 2025, and against Novorizontino (Allan pulled), Botafogo-SP (Allan knocked down), Vitória (handball in an attempt to chip by Flaco), and Internacional (back touch on Vitor Roque's leg).

Before the controversial Choque-Rei, Palmeiras had played 59 games in 2025 and had 14 penalties awarded in their favor and five against. Afterward, there were 24 games, with no penalties awarded in their favor and five awarded against Red Bull Bragantino, Flamengo, LDU, Grêmio (2), and Corinthians.

What did Abel Ferreira say?

"Since the game against São Paulo last year, there have been 23 games, and it seems there is a decree that no penalties can be awarded in favor of Palmeiras. I can't understand this. After all the uproar from that game, the only penalty we had was against LDU at home. We have had, even this year, even in the Paulista, clear penalty situations. We need to be more demanding with each other. The refereeing is very demanding with me, and that's right, but I demand as well. Palmeiras and the clubs also demand that penalties be awarded when they should be," said Abel.

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