Otamendi penalty? Expert explains key moment in Benfica v Sporting: trip... | OneFootball

No infraction was committed by Nicolás Otamendi. The ‘verdict’ is given by Pedro Henriques, who believes that the Argentine defender was actually the one fouled by his opponent. In his analysis of the incidents that marked the draw between Benfica and Sporting, the expert considers that Luis Suárez was the one who did not touch the ball.

In his analysis for the newspaper A Bola, Pedro Henriques was quite succinct in his explanation of the incident that took place in the Benfica penalty area, right at the 45th minute. “Otamendi does not trip Luis Suárez; it is the Colombian forward who fails to kick the ball,” he began by stating.

According to the refereeing expert, the number 97 for the Lions, during the challenge, ends up hitting the leg of the captain of the reds. “It is with his right foot that he ends up kicking the left leg of the Eagles’ center-back, who was on the ground,” he added.

“Attacking foul correctly called,” Pedro Henriques finally pointed out, approving the decision made by António Nobre and considering that the Colombian forward committed an infraction against his opponent, not the other way around, as the Lions insisted.

It is worth recalling that the match between Benfica and Sporting, held at Estádio da Luz, ended in a 1-1 draw. Pote put the green and whites ahead on the scoreboard, and Sudakov brought the Glorious back into the game by equalizing before halftime.

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