Referee details Rafinha's complaints and abuse in match report | OneFootball

The 2-1 defeat to Grêmio on the afternoon of this Saturday (8), in the 22nd round of the Brazilian Championship, could later result in a headache in sports court for São Paulo’s football executive, Rafinha.

The match referee, André Luiz Policarpo Bento from Minas Gerais, reported in the official match report that the official confronted him with insults as he was leaving the field at Grêmio’s stadium.

As images recorded by journalists and fans of the team from Rio Grande do Sul had already shown (see below), Rafinha approached the referee in the tunnel leading to the locker rooms. The official openly questioned why VAR did not review an alleged penalty on Luciano in the final moments of the game.

According to the document published by the CBF, the official’s approach came right after the final whistle:

“Damn, André. You had a great game, you should have gone to VAR to review Luciano’s play. Fuck off, damn it... It’s me saying this, this fucking VAR,” Rafinha reportedly said.

Dorival Júnior’s outrage over VAR

The controversial play also sparked other protests from São Paulo supporters in Porto Alegre (RS).

Luciano, the main figure in the controversial play, left the field fuming at the refereeing.

In his press conference, coach Dorival Júnior avoided criticizing the referee from Minas Gerais and directed his complaints at VAR official Heber Roberto Lopes.

“It’s impossible that the person on VAR, Heber Roberto Lopes, didn’t see the pull on Luciano. It’s absurd that this wasn’t flagged by the video referee. That kind of situation is unacceptable,” he vented.

The coach said it was “impossible” that VAR had not noticed the pull on the forward and called the lack of intervention “unacceptable.”

“The pull happened, and it wasn’t flagged by the video referee. That worries us, because this kind of attitude is unacceptable from someone who has everything there, calm, in air conditioning, watching what is happening and whose only obligation is to flag that,” he added.

Stuck on 26 points, the team that once led the competition has now truly sounded the alarm, sitting only four points above the dreaded relegation zone. São Paulo returns to action in the Brasileirão next Saturday (15) at 9 p.m. Brasília time against Coritiba, back at Morumbi after a long period displaced by concerts. Before that, on Tuesday (11) at 9:30 p.m. Brasília time, the team opens the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana against Bolívar away from home.

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