Experts: Benfica hard done by in Champions League, "negligent challenge" | OneFootball

Pedro Henriques and Jorge Faustino have no doubts: the referee missed showing a yellow card, due to Pedro Bicalho's negligent tackle on Sudakov, right in the first minute of the match between Benfica and Qarabag, counting for the first round of the Champions League group stage.

"Pedro Bicalho had a negligent approach by hitting Sudakov's ankle with the sole of his boot. Yellow card not shown", stated Jorge Faustino, in statements to the newspaper Record, pointing out an error by the referee assigned to the match right in the first minute of the game.

Pedro Henriques shares the same opinion: "Pedro Bicalho, player of Qarabag, in the very first tackle he makes in the game, steps with the sole and studs of his right foot on the left foot's instep of Georgiy Sudakov. A negligent tackle liable for disciplinary action", he admitted, to the newspaper A Bola.

What is certain is that, despite the experts agreeing on the correct way to judge the incident, Eric Lambrechts only called a foul, letting the Azerbaijani player escape a yellow card, at an early stage of the match, which would certainly have influenced future actions.

Benfica returns to the field next Saturday, September 20, at 6:00 PM, in Vila das Aves, against AVS. The game pertains to the sixth round of the Liga Portugal Betclic. The Eagles will play again for the Champions League on the next September 30, against Chelsea, in London.

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