São Paulo v Grêmio to get controversial Minas referee, back from ban | OneFootball

São Paulo’s return to the pitch after 12 days without matches, against Grêmio next Saturday (8), already has its refereeing crew defined by the CBF.

And the man in charge of the whistle will be Minas Gerais referee André Luiz Skettino Policarpo Bento, who has already been involved in some recent controversies in the last few seasons of Brazilian football and was even suspended by the CBF after mistakes.

The Tricolor clash, which will take place at Grêmio’s arena in Porto Alegre (RS) at 4 p.m. (Brasília time), will also have Bruno Raphael Pires (GO) and Guilherme Dias Camilo (MG) as André Luiz’s on-field assistants, with Santa Catarina’s Heber Roberto Lopes in charge of the VAR booth.

As the CBF usually states, the selection of referees is defined by taking into account the stages of the competition, the importance and degree of complexity of each match, and the referees’ qualifications, physical condition, and technical performance.

André Luiz Bento has officiated more Série B matches this season, and in top-flight Brazilian league games he has usually worked as the fourth official. In November 2025, he officiated São Paulo’s 2-1 win over Juventude in the Brasileirão.

Punishment and controversies

The Minas Gerais referee was also suspended by the CBF at the start of 2024 for an error in the Atlético-GO vs. Flamengo match, right in the opening round of the Brasileirão. On that occasion, the Goiás side complained about a penalty awarded in stoppage time for the Rio club. The match ended in a Flamengo victory and sparked heavy criticism and complaints from Atlético supporters.

In the previous season, in 2023, André Bento also officiated some matches that ended amid controversy, and he was then assigned to work smaller matches in national competitions.

Now, André Luiz will have another chance to prove his worth in Saturday’s São Paulo vs. Grêmio match, for the 22nd round of the Brasileirão. Tricolor sit 12th in the table with 28 points, while the Gaúchos are just inside the relegation zone in 17th place with 22 points. In the first half of the season, the home side won 2-1 at Morumbi, still with Hernán Crespo in charge.

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