Boto cites Corinthians in Flamengo v Athletico-PR row: ‘Double standards’

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Coluna do Fla

·18 mai 2026

Boto cites Corinthians in Flamengo v Athletico-PR row: ‘Double standards’

What happened in the Flamengo vs Athletico-PR match?

Flamengo drew 1-1 with Athletico-PR this Sunday (17), in the 16th round of the Brasileirão. However, Mengão left Arena da Baixada furious with the refereeing of Rafael Klein. Fla’s football director, José Boto vented and demanded more consistency from the referees.

A lot went wrong (today). This pitch, which is supposed to be like a carpet, doesn’t allow for football to be played, and then the refereeing. The refereeing was not good. In a match where they should have played I don’t know how many minutes with 10 men, we ended up being the ones with 10. There is a huge double standard. We already played against Corinthians with 10 men because of a less serious challenge than that one from the Athletico-PR player on Paquetá. You’ll be able to see the image of Paquetá’s leg. This double standard is already becoming habitual, and the CBF needs to control it. Only they can control the criteria and the refereeing. What we expect is that when we have to lose, it’s because the other team, as it was today, is a good team, a team playing within the rules,” said José Boto.

What happened in the Flamengo vs Athletico-PR match?

Flamengo were left complaining about two possible red cards in the match against Athletico-PR. The first incident happened at 19 minutes of the first half, when Aguirre caught Alex Sandro with his studs on the shin. However, Rafael Klein did not even show a yellow card to the opposing player.

Vidéos OneFootball

Still in the first half, at the 40-minute mark, Lucas Paquetá suffered a hard challenge from Felipinho. On that occasion, the Athletico-PR player planted his studs into the shin of Mengão’s midfielder and received only a yellow card. It is worth noting that, in both incidents, VAR did not call Rafael Klein over for a review.

Did Flamengo release images of Lucas Paquetá’s situation?

After the match, Flamengo released photos of the cut on Lucas Paquetá’s shin. In addition, Mengão also criticized the refereeing: “The image of Lucas Paquetá’s shin shows the seriousness of a violent challenge that came very close to causing a fracture, while Alex Sandro also suffered from excessive physical force during the match. Only in the challenge on Paquetá did the refereeing give just a yellow card.”

View this photo on Instagram A post shared by Flamengo (@flamengo)

What is Flamengo’s next match?

Flamengo return to the pitch this Wednesday (20) to face Estudiantes (ARG) in the fifth round of the Libertadores. The match will take place at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) at the Maracanã.

As tradition dictates, Coluna do Fla will bring all the details of the match between Flamengo and Estudiantes through YouTube, the website, and social media. However, Globo (free-to-air TV), GE TV (YouTube) and Paramount+ (streaming) will broadcast the Libertadores match.

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