Palmeiras: ‘Overwhelming pressure’, ‘future advantages’ and chaos | OneFootball

It sounds like a joke, but Palmeiras thought it best to officially respond to São Paulo’s complaints regarding the tragic refereeing by Ramon Abatti Abel from Santa Catarina in the derby between the teams last Sunday (5th), at Morumbi, for the Brazilian Championship.

In a statement that sounds unbelievable, given their coach’s well-known stance regarding his treatment of referees, the green rival speaks of “overwhelming pressure” for “future advantages” and an “attempt to instill chaos,” among other improprieties.

“Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras views with concern the overwhelming pressure that some clubs have been exerting publicly, and also behind the scenes of Brazilian football, with the intent of instilling chaos, benefiting from it to coerce entities and individuals in pursuit of future advantages and creating narratives that attempt to tarnish the competent work carried out by our institution. It is far too convenient to credit an epic comeback—achieved through sweat and three goals scored in a 19-minute span—solely to a referee’s decision,” says the statement, released through social media.

Even more unbelievable is that the green team claims that Abatti Abel’s refereeing also made crucial mistakes against them in the match, which could have influenced the final result, in this case in favor of Tricolor.

“After all, there were also unfavorable calls against Palmeiras, such as the non-expulsions of midfielder Bobadilla and defender Alan Franco, who elbowed striker Ramón Sosa in the face in a play ignored by VAR—and overlooked by the hypocrites of the moment,” it points out.

Now, the most astonishing part is when Palmeiras claims that, when feeling wronged, it “rarely makes public statements.” Something that, let’s be honest, makes no sense and doesn’t match the coach’s sharp press conferences (as happened this very Sunday at Morumbi) or those of the club’s board. In this case, just recall their elimination from the 2022 Copa do Brasil, when a VAR line issue in a supposed offside by Calleri, which led to a goal by Luciano at Parque Antártica, saw Abel Ferreira and Leila Pereira go public and to the CBF to demand action.

“It’s worth noting that, even when feeling wronged, Palmeiras’ board rarely makes public statements about refereeing, as it respects the appropriate forums for discussion and, above all, does not shift responsibility in adverse moments. This stance, in fact, helps explain the success we have achieved in recent years: we always look at ourselves and work without seeking subterfuge or building excuses for our defeats,” it says.

“Palmeiras, as is well known, is strongly in favor of the professionalization of referees and advocates for more investment in technology and in the training of the category, among other improvements. Our commitment to the development of Brazilian football is above any individual interest. For this reason, in fact, Palmeiras, among the candidates for the Série A title, will be the only club to play during the current FIFA Date, even with the team extremely depleted due to players called up for their national teams,” it concludes.

To top it off, the green club falls into outright contradiction in its statement. That’s because it speaks of collective unity among clubs to improve Brazilian football, while at the same time demanding punishment for São Paulo’s directors for complaining precisely about the blow suffered by Abatti Abel.

“We understand that the collective growth of our industry requires sacrifices, a spirit of collaboration, and the end of the selfishness that, unfortunately, still guides the conduct of directors who sometimes resort to shouting, sometimes to baseless accusations to justify negative results. In this sense, we hope that the Superior Tribunal de Justiça Desportiva (STJD) will be firm with those who, irresponsibly, cast undue suspicion on people and institutions,” it concludes.

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