Corinthians chief slams refereeing over São Paulo midfielder call | OneFootball

By Fabio Luigi / Central do Timão Editorial Team

On Sunday night (10), Corinthians hosted São Paulo at Neo Química Arena in a derby valid for the 15th round of the 2026 Brazilian Championship and won 3-2. Corinthians’ goals were scored by Raniele, Matheuzinho, and Breno Bidon. The win moved the team up to 16th place with 18 points — four wins, six draws, and five losses — with 13 goals scored and 15 conceded.

The match was also marked by refereeing controversies. Right after the game, Corinthians football executive Marcelo Paz gave a press conference and expressed his dissatisfaction over the non-expulsion of midfielder Damián Bobadilla, who, after the rival’s equalizer at the end of the first half, made an obscene gesture. Daronco went to VAR and chose not to send off the Paraguayan because he had not actually touched his genitals with his hand. The black-and-white club official therefore called for equal standards in similar situations.

Photo: Henrique Vigliotti/Central do Timão

“Unfortunately, we are once again talking about refereeing, but it’s important to point this out today, especially because we won the game. That way, it doesn’t sound like an excuse for a defeat or because we were harmed. It’s a matter of clarification regarding Bobadilla’s play, from São Paulo. VAR called for a review of a possible obscene act, and everyone knows Corinthians had two players punished in different matches for similar gestures. Today’s justification was that there was no contact with the genital area, but I don’t think that is what defines the act. If we imagine that same gesture in a public square or in a restaurant, it would be offensive. If it’s not acceptable outside football, it shouldn’t be acceptable inside it,” he began.

He then mentioned the two situations involving Corinthians players in this context. In the ninth round, when the black-and-white side was beaten 3-1 by Fluminense at the Maracanã, defensive midfielder Allan was sent off after placing his hand on his own genitals and looking toward the players of the Rio club. In the Derby against Palmeiras — a goalless draw in Itaquera in the 12th round — André Luiz was shown a red card for doing the same thing and looking at Andreas Pereira. Both were punished by the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD), under Article 258 of the CBJD, and were also fined by Corinthians.

“I think the refereeing committee needs to evaluate this, even as a matter of clarification. Football has existed for decades, but this issue of the obscene gesture has gained attention now, and perhaps there still isn’t an exact understanding of how to act. Daronco is an experienced referee and has all my respect — in fact, his refereeing overall was not bad — but we cannot let this specific incident pass because we were punished twice recently for the same thing. Either the gesture is allowed in football, or the refereeing got it wrong today. There is no middle ground,” he continued.

Finally, Marcelo Paz said he will bring up the matter at the CBF Refereeing Commission meeting this Monday (11) to demand a clearer position from the entity on the issue and avoid conflicts of interpretation in possible future episodes.

“We will be present at tomorrow’s meeting, as always. The refereeing committee needs to acknowledge that there was a mistake — which is understandable in a new issue — or else admit that this type of gesture is allowed. The point we raise, with great respect, is the search for a definition. For the good of football, situations like this need to be clear. The Corinthians players who committed obscene acts were sent off and punished; in today’s case, it was understood that it did not warrant punishment. Either there was a mistake, or what Bobadilla did is now allowed,” he concluded.

Corinthians now turns its attention back to the Copa do Brasil. Next Thursday (14), at 7:30 p.m., the black-and-white side hosts Barra-SC at Neo Química Arena for the second leg of the fifth round of the national knockout tournament. In the first leg, Timão won 1-0 at Ressacada, with a goal by Jesse Lingard.

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