Paulo Freitas: Three referees on the pitch, still baffled | OneFootball

Paulo Freitas criticized the refereeing after FC Porto’s extra-time defeat to Sporting. In the Super Cup, three on-rink referees were used for the first time, which displeased some of those involved.

Match assessment

“We started well and the game had distinct phases. In the 1st half we were superior to Sporting, but there were key moments. After going 2-0 up we had the chance to extend the lead while playing with a numerical advantage, but we weren’t effective, despite working on that a lot. A minute later, we conceded for 2-1 and the team wobbled a bit. We went two ahead again, but conceded again. We went into halftime with good feelings at 3-2.

In the 2nd half, the teams respected each other a lot. Sporting managed to push us back more and we were selective in how we reached the goal. In a scrappy play, Sporting equalized and we felt the impact of the equalizer too much. In extra time, we made a mistake and left a player one-on-one with the goalkeeper. We’re very sad about the result, but we come out alive. It’s going to be a tough season and we’ll be in the decisive moments to bring joy to our fans.”

Controversy over refereeing

“It was a great game between two great teams. Now we’re focused on the league and we want to start well on Wednesday. There’s one thing I want to highlight: there are three referees on the rink and I still don’t understand a lot of this. I saw referees far from the plays calling the attention of those who were close to penalize FC Porto players. I’m not making excuses, but I want the criteria to be the same. Three referees on the rink is too much. We’re always open to trying things and helping the sport evolve, but we feel there’s a shift in criteria.”

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