Paulo Bracks slams refereeing after Atlético draw: “A disgrace”

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·3 November 2025

Paulo Bracks slams refereeing after Atlético draw: “A disgrace”

The goalless draw between Internacional and Atlético-MG on Sunday (2), at Beira-Rio, during the 31st round of the Brazilian Championship, was marked by a controversial performance from referee Alex Gomes Stefano, from Rio de Janeiro. The match had three VAR reviews that changed on-field decisions and sparked outrage in the Atlético board. After the game, Galo's CSO, Paulo Bracks, harshly criticized the refereeing and demanded more consistency from the CBF.

Just 15 minutes into the first half, defender Vitor Hugo was sent off after a VAR review. On the field, Alex Gomes Stefano had not even called a foul on the play, but after being called by video referee Carlos Eduardo Nunes Braga (RJ), he reversed his decision and showed a straight red card.

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Shortly after, the referee awarded a penalty to Atlético, in a play involving Rony and Bernabei. The Atlético forward was brought down inside the area, but once again, after a monitor review, the decision was overturned.

In the second half, it was Internacional's turn to complain about an on-field decision. The referee sent off Alan Patrick for a foul on Junior Alonso, but VAR intervened once more, and the decision was changed to a yellow card.

After the final whistle, Paulo Bracks did not hide his indignation with the series of reviews and what he called the "lack of consistency" from the refereeing.

We witnessed a refereeing fiasco here today. The referee had to resort to VAR 3 times to change on-field decisions, deviating from the criteria of other Brazilian Championship games. We don't want to be favored, but we also don't want to be harmed. We do not accept being harmed the way we were today! We were outraged in at least 2 plays here at Beira-Rio. A sending-off that conditions the result, conditions the game.

The official also demanded a standardization of CBF's decisions and stated that the club should file a formal complaint with the entity.

We talked to the referee. What we want is the same CBF criteria so that we can talk to the players and explain to them what the criteria are. Today we are lost! One moment it's one way and then it's another! We understand that today's refereeing was extremely detrimental, and we will formally approach the CBF, but we cannot fail to talk about the refereeing.

Finally, Bracks also recalled that the same referee had controversial performances in other Galo matches this season.

"It's a sequence of him officiating. This same referee had a sending-off of Alonso against Grêmio and was also in matches against Vitória, Corinthians, and Sport. We want a bit more justification and consistency, so we don't have to worry about refereeing anymore. This is our official stance," he concluded.

With the draw, Atlético reached 37 points and moved further away from the Z4 of the Brasileirão. Galo is 13th in the standings. Meanwhile, Internacional, with 36 points, is 15th.

Atlético returns to the field next Wednesday (05), when they host Bahia at 8:00 PM at Arena MRV.

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