Controversial ref who gave Palmeiras penalty to officiate São Paulo v Grêmio | OneFootball

After the huge refereeing controversy in the derby between São Paulo and Palmeiras, the incredible coincidences of life pointed to a referee for Tricolor’s next Brasileirão match, against Grêmio this Thursday (16), which promises to spark a lot of discussion.

Mr. Davi de Oliveira Lacerda, 29 years old, from Espírito Santo, was assigned to the match between the tricolors this week, in a public hearing held this afternoon, specifically at Granja Comary, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), with the presence of Marcelo van Gasse, vice-president of the CBF refereeing committee.

The same referee who awarded an incredible penalty in favor of Palmeiras in the match against Juventude this Saturday (11), in a postponed round of the Brasileiro. This time, unlike the Choque-Rei, the play was reviewed in the VAR booth and correctly overturned. Watch below:

This year, Lacerda has already officiated two São Paulo matches in the competition, a 2–2 draw with Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro, and a 3–1 win over Fluminense at Morumbi.

ALREADY SPARKED A STATEMENT OF REPUDIATION

But the referee’s controversies have followed him this year. In the semifinals of the Campeonato Capixaba, between Desportiva Ferroviária and Rio Branco, the refereeing team ignored two questionable penalty incidents, even after VAR review.

Feeling harmed, Desportiva protested and issued a statement of repudiation against the Football Federation (FES), accusing referee Davi Lacerda of having an emotional tie to Rio Branco, as he had played for the opposing club in the youth divisions.

“The referee’s stance in the face of mistaken decisions and the failure to use VAR caused us immense bewilderment, since evidence and proof of professional and emotional ties between him and the rival team, favored in the incidents cited, were presented,” the statement said.

Later, already in a match for the 6th round of the 2025 Brasileirão, the Espírito Santo referee also sparked outrage by not awarding a penalty in the game between Atlético-MG and Mirassol.

Midfielder Gustavo Scarpa was brought down inside the opposing area, but the referee did not call a foul. Called by VAR to review the play, Lacerda pointed to a foul by the Atlético player at the start of the move, thus overturning a possible penalty in favor of the Minas Gerais side.

The referee’s decision caused great anger among Atlético fans and many protests from the crowd. Now, with referees in the spotlight after so many recent errors, including against São Paulo, we hope his name won’t be the main attraction of the match against Grêmio.

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