Vitória player sent off v Benfica, expert: should’ve been yellow | OneFootball

Iturralde González, former international referee, sees no reason for the straight red card shown to Fabio Blanco, Vitória de Guimarães player, who was sent off in the match against Benfica, at the 56th minute of the game that ended with a win for the Eagles.

“It's true that Fabio Blanco goes in with his leg very high, with the studs, but he scrapes. There isn't a contact where you see the studs hit the knee, where he goes in hard, with his leg stretched and all the studs hitting Barreiro's knee. He just goes for the ball and what he does is scrape with the studs. For me, it's a yellow," he told Record newspaper.

The expert justifies his decision: "There is no excessive use of force or violent conduct. There isn't full impact of the studs on the knee. He hits him and leaves his leg. Blanco's leg goes up and down, but at no point do all the studs hit the knee. It's a reckless play, very flashy and spectacular, but not a red. The key is that he doesn't hit the knee or thigh with the studs, he just scrapes,” he explained.

Regarding the Sporting - Alverca (2-0) match, Iturralde analyzed two incidents in the Lions' penalty area and says that, in both, there is no reason for a penalty. “At 52', it's a tighter, greyer play, but I don't see a penalty. There is contact, Diomande puts his body in and Marezi, when he feels the contact, lets himself fall. He grabs his leg and there isn't even a touch on the leg. It's one of those plays attackers do a lot, throwing themselves... For it to be a penalty, as I usually say, if you go to a store, from 1 to 10, you have to buy it for 9 or 10. How much would you pay for this penalty? Not even 5, so it's not a penalty. It's a play where Marezi is trying to get something that isn't there.”

About the incident at 90+3, he also sees no reason to call a foul on the Lions' central defender: “I see a football action. Both are going for the ball and grabbing each other. It's true that there's a slight touch from Diomande on Tiago Leite, but I see this as a football situation, not as a blow or a normal foul. It's normal football contact, fighting for position and both trying to play the ball. For me, there's nothing, it's a ball dispute,” he concluded.

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