Referee denies Sporting clear penalty against Nacional, old tricks again | OneFootball

The Arbitration Council of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) announced this Wednesday, January 28, the refereeing team appointed for the 20th round of Liga Portugal Betclic. Ricardo Baixinho was chosen to officiate the match between Sporting and Nacional.

The referee from the Lisbon Football Association was selected as the main referee for the duel and will be assisted by Andreia Sousa and Ricardo Carreira. Flávio Duarte will serve as the fourth official, while VAR will be handled by Ricardo Moreira. Jonathan Babo will be the AVAR.

Ricardo Baixinho does not bring back good memories for the Alvalade club’s fans. The referee officiated a match between Sporting and AVS in the seventh round of last season, and his performance was considered controversial. The game was marked by a highly questionable incident. At the 35th minute, Sporting players appealed for a penalty in the opponent’s box for a handball by Fernando Fonseca.

After Conrad Harder headed the ball behind him, the former Porto full-back stretched out his arm and ‘blocked’ the dangerous play. VAR called the match referee to review the footage, but the referee decided there was no reason to award a penalty and justified the decision by saying the arm was in a natural position (Recall the incident HERE). Despite the error, the green and whites won 3-0.

The green and white emblem will return to the field next Sunday, February 1, against Nacional, in a match for the 20th round of Liga Portugal Betclic. The game against the team led by Tiago Margarido will be played at 18:00 at Estádio José Alvalade.

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